Nematus' Beginnings
by Lu Bane Na
Summary: This is the upbringing and history of my OC character, Nematus, who's just arrived in K Entertainment's Clan Infamous: Help Wanted! story. Epilogue's up! Now I'm finished! BEWARE! INSANE PLOT TWIST AT END! It's gonna make you wanna slap your grandma! lol
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the past of my OC character in K Entertainment's FFXII fanfic, Clan Infamous: Help Wanted!. Anybody reading this will probably be lost if they haven't played the game or read the story I mentioned in the line above. I normally try to write in much better quality, but this really isn't a major project of mine, so whatever. I'll probably end up doing this into five or six chapters; length of time between updates will be unknown. Please enjoy.**

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><p>History of Nematus Draken Lazarus<p>

-_19yrs ago, Nematus- Age 4_

Dalmasca.

A small, humble kingdom that was ruled by a kind king who loved his people. For many ages, Dalmasca has avoided wars and plights. The land was fruitful, spite being surrounded by deserts. However, the people were long accustomed to the seering heat and sands and have long since acclimated themselves to the climate. Dalmasca seemed to have had everything going for them: peace, plentiful food, liberty, and a truce with its sister kingdom, Nabradia. Nothing could happen to change their luck, right?

Unfortunately, peace is soon replaced with fear, and life with death and decay. The cause: a dire rat carrying a mutated strand of virus had entered the city from a transport vessel from Nabradia. And acting in its own nature, it set out to find a place to call home. The small critter couldn't have asked for a better home than the Garamsthye Waterway, a vast, underground facility made to move its supply of lifegiving water throughout the entire capital of Rabanastre.

Having found a haven, the dire rat set out to do what it felt: feed and multiply. However, like with all mating rituals between animals, there are normally challenges for mating rights. This rat's case was no different. He fought and lost to his opponent. As victory, the winner ate its rival. It unknowingly contracted the ailment as well, yet the disease remained dormant. The conditions just weren't right for it to thrive. It needed a more suitable host.

Going about its usual business, the infected rat traveled into the streets of the city during the night, looking for scraps of food that might've been dropped or left by vendors or citizens. It searched throughout the night, roaming around the confines of the sleeping city, and finally found what it was looking for. Running underneath a bench, it found a chunk of cooked fish. It ate the old meat greedily and once it finished, left to go back to its home.

Come the next morning, the rat was rudely awaken by loud noises, the sounds of children taunting and boasting. It investigated what could be intruding on its territory. Much to its displeasure, there were four kids with sticks beating and killing scurrying dire rats. It was a common past time for the orphans under Migelo's care. Seeing that its territory was being threatened, the vermin ran into the fray and charged the closest kid. After avoiding several swipes and even sustaining some, the rat saw its opening. Leeping forward, it bit down on the small boy's foot, causing him to yelp in pain. His friends laughed at their comrade in pain.

With little effort, the rest of the kids pounded the rat repeatedly till it was void of life.

"Come on, klutz," one boy said. "I think we got them all today. How's the foot?"

The boy that was bitten gave a grunt reply. "It's fine. Come on, let's go, everyone."

Little did he know that the moment his foot was bitten, the virus was transfered and his fate was sealed. As soon as the virus entered the boy's body, it awoke from its dormant state. The environment couldn't have been better, so it did was virus do: spread.

_-one week later_

Only fear and chaos rule over the city. The Dalmascan guards try their best to quarantine the infected from the clean, but with half of their own forces falling ill to the sickness, there is little they can do. With tears rolling down his cheeks, the kind king watches as his people escape their once beautiful capital to get away from the plague. He has already sent for aid from their sister, Nabradia. They recognized the illness, as it has been plaguing them as well. They had been close to finding a cure, employee everyone from Vieras to scientists and doctors from both Arcadia and Rozarria, but the symptoms that the citizens in Dalmasca had were similar, but different from the ones the disease they experienced.

Realizing that there was little anyone could do save pray to the gods, the king and guards did their best to prevent the further spread of the plague. Among one of the families escaping the 'Black Death', as it had been nicknamed, was a farmer, his wife, and two children: a two year old girl and a four year old boy. The young boy helped carry his sister as his mother and father gathered what food and water they could for the long journey they were going to be taking.

"Daddy, why we go to Jahara?" a young Nematus asked. Worry and confusion were all that could be seen on his face. Obviously, the commotion and panic of the people had him frightened. His smaller sister started crying from being woken from her sleep, so he started trying to coo her back to sleep.

"We're going to the Ozmone plains. I've traded with the Garif tribe there before. I'm friends with one named Supinelu. He will be able to help us, son. Now come, we must hurry. We don't know how far the plague has spread in the city. It's not safe here anymore." The dad, a stout, strong-bodied man toughened by a lifetime of labor, shouldered a rolled up pack filled with food. His wife had finished filling their pouches of water and took Nematus' hand.

"Come, Nematus. We're leaving."

Those were the final words any of them ever spoke in Rabanastre. They had made sure to split from the rest of the caravans of refugees who were going towards Nalbina, unaware that the plague was just now sprouting up there as well. Besides, large packs of people without protection from the Guard would only draw attention of bandits and murderers.

They made their way across the Giza Plains, avoiding beasts whenever possible. When a fight was unavoidable, the father would brandish a longsword and make quick work of any animal that dared to attack his family.

Days later, they finally made it to the Ozmone Plains. All were weary from the travel and constant threats of danger. There were more monsters out as of late and the strain was taking its toll on the determined farmer. He sighed as they came upon the familiar plains and massive rock formations that littered Ozmone. It was here that a tribe of strong warriors and farmers called the Garif lived. Surely, Supinelu would give them aid.

They spent half of the day navigating their way through the plains and trying to avoid monsters. But, not everything could work out as planned. They were resting in an open area when from the tall grasses a zaghnal exploded from. It roared in glee as it found a new meal, having lost its other one to an aeroes. The father, though weak and fatigued, stood up with his sword drawn. The staredown was intense, but it was the beast who made the first move.

The large beast, which resembled a bluish werewolf, lunged forward, claws readied to reap the hume of his life. The farmer skillfully dodged the incoming swipe and came up with an uppercut slash that drew much blood from the monster. This only seemed to enrage it further more. Its skin started glowing a dark, crimson red. It was going berserk. He'd have to be very careful here, or a single blow could put him out and put his family in harm's way.

Roaring, the werewolf charged at him again. Again, he avoided the swipe, spinnning, and landed a diagnal slash down the length of the creature's back. The beast's back muscles spasmed and contracted at the sudden pain, causing him to arch his back. Given the opening, the farmer landed a swift blow to the beast's exposed neck, slitting its throat. As it gargled blood up in an attempt to cry out, another swing of the sword was all it took to cleave its head clean off.

Sheathing his sword, the man started towards his worried family. The relief he saw on their faces quickly turned to horror. Sensing something behind him, he swung around to meet five giant claws coming down upon him. Of course, the Zaghnal never travel alone. Always in packs of two or more. Nematus' father didn't have time to react and the claws raked his entire front, leaving three inch lacerations down his face, chest, and torso.

"DADDY!" Nematus cried. He picked up a rock and ran at the larger werewolf, ignoring the screams of his mother to come back. He got close enough and threw the rock, hitting the zaghnal in the face, though it did nothing but annoy it. With a backhand, the boy was sent flying out of the clearing and into the tall grass away from the battle. Nematus had never been in so much pain in his life. The last things he could hear were the screams of his mother getting louder. It soon ended.

Than, all he could hear was gnashing of teeth on flesh and the cries of his little sister,...wait, what was his sister's name again. He couldn't remember. Still, as if like a cruel joke by the gods, he stayed conscious to hear even the cries of his baby sister become distant and void. The last thing he remembered was looking up into the sun, which was suddenly blocked out by a large figure. With that, he gave into the darkness.

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><p><strong>AN: And that be it for the first chapter of my OC history. I'm not sure how the plague started, so I just used the 'Black Plague' and how it traversed the world. I'm sure some will say something in this isn't right, but oh well. I haven't played the game in years; bite me. Anyways, be read and review. I'd love it very much.**


	2. Nematus' Pursuit of Strength

**A/N: This is the past of my OC character in K Entertainment's FFXII fanfic, Clan Infamous: Help Wanted!. Anybody reading this will probably be lost if they haven't played the game or read the story I mentioned in the line above. I normally try to write in much better quality, but this really isn't a major project of mine, so whatever. I'll probably end up doing this into five or six chapters; length of time between updates will be unknown. Please enjoy.**

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><p>History of Nematus Draken Lazarus<p>

Chapter 2 Nematus' Pursuit of Strength

Pain was all that he could feel. His head felt like it wanted to explode into fire as it throbbed constantly.

Pain.

That was the first thing he experienced as he began his entrance into a new life. Normally, one would feel warm embraces, soothing and uplifting words, a friendly face to greet them, or all of the above. Why couldn't he have been one of those. Life has had a way of being a real bitch to Nematus. What divine being in their sane mind would destroy everything a four year old boy ever knew in less than a week? Some reall assholes, that's for sure. But, thankfully, karma took pity on him. The blow he took from the zaghnar gave him a case of amnesia concerning.

He woke up groaning in pain, which was soon responded to by a Garif woman. Her hands, massive compared to a hume's, take delicate care to not accidentally injure the small child even more.

"What hurts, Child?" she asked in a motherly tone. The boy could only continue groaning.

Merely taking a shot in the dark, she placed a cold, wet rag on his tiny head. To her relief, his moans of pain stopped almost instantly. They were soon graced with the appearance of the Next-in-line War Chief, Supinelu. The hulking figure stared pitiedly at the young child. "So he has awoken?"

"Yes, Supinelu. The child was in pain when I heard him moan. It appears his head is in much pain."

"A fever, perhaps?" he asked. If so, than they'd have to keep him clear of the other villagers till he recovered. "Well, I've just finished burying the remains of his mother and father. There...wasn't much left. Please send someone to get me if Nematus' condition changes."

She nodded understandingly. This child's parents were friends of Supinelu, and had regularly traded with their village in the past. The unexpected loss of two friends was obviously affecting the War-Chief's son.

Over the course of the next few days, the Garif woman continued to look after Nematus till his fever finally broke. Supinelu didn't know whether to be distressed or relieved that the boy was suffering from slight amnesia and couldn't remember the events several days before. He could consider the kid lucky to some small degree. Feeling an obligation towards his late friends, Supinelu chose to adopt Nematus the day he had been elevated to War-Chief, replacing his older brother, Kadalu.

It took no time for the taners to make some clothes for the hume child; afterall, he was about the size of a Garif infant. The craftsmen in the village even enjoyed making a Garif mask for the child. Having no memory of his past or anything to hold him back, he adapted to his new way of life very quickly. Sure, he stuck out among the kids of the village, but they understood his situation after a quick explanation from their parents. They knew picking on his looks would only cause him to question himself and possibly unlock his memories. The effect that could have on his mind would be catastrophic.

The woman Garif continued to look over him, causing Supinelu and her to eventually become close enough to become mates. With a promise to each other, they vowed to raise Nematus as best as they could. They agreed to let Tanyar, the woman, to teach Nematus the necessity of family and anything unrelated to battle or hunting, while Supinelu would teach him how to hunt and fight. They would make sure to the best of their abilities that he would always be able to defeat anyone who would ever threaten him, his friends, or his family.

Till he was deemed old enough to actually train, Nematus was under the constant teachings of his adoptive mother. The lessons would range from the Garif's history, the role each member in their village has, the importance of those roles, the wide variety of paths one could choose from as his/her's role in the clan, knowledge of the medicinal usages of each and every plant on the Ozmone Plains, cleaning and cooking kills brought in by the hunters, farming and livestock raising, socializing with others of the Jaraha tribe, and lastly, magic. She was one of very few Garifs who used magics, making her the premier healer in the tribe. She also knew some offensive magics, such as quake, which could shatter the earth under an enemy, or bio, which often inflicted a 'sap' illness that constantly drained the energy of its target.

Being a child, he found the history of the Garif people exciting, always wanting a story before going to bed. Like any other kid, he found all the lessons concerning the roles of people in the clans boring, this partly brought on by influence of the younglings his age. It took just an explanation to the kids' parents for them to chatise their own kids. They soon understood that there was a strong reason for all of these teachings for Nematus, so they soon ceased their shaninigans whenever he was around.

Unsurprisingly, the parents discovered Nematus was little to no problem with the concept and labor of farming, raising livestock, and tending to the chocobos. The boy's parents were farmers, afterall. Not only was he adept in farming, but the magics as well. He'd successfully casted his first quake spell on his father, though it only shook the ground enough to make the War-Chief lose his balance and fall on his butt. It was an improvement though.

They kept teaching him while he grew up, only once had they had to empty his schedule due to Tanyar's pregnancy and giving birth to a small boy. They decided to name him after Supinelu's late friend and Nematus' father, Johan. The name was a little strange for a Garif child, but it wasn't the worst. When Nematus finally reached the age of eight, he was now old enough to start training, although at the minor stage.

He seemed to not ever be able to get into it, everyone figured. They didn't understand why. Having been raised in with the Garif people, the child was just as strong as the other boys, who were about four times as strong as the average hume child his age. He loved to wrestle, sharing victories and losses with the boys, so he wasn't a pacifist. After about an entire year, he finally climb out of his lacadaisical shell. He began excelling at the training lessons taught to him and was soon able to outfight most of the boys who haven't gone on their first hunt. Having been just a little weaker than them, he made up for it with his speed that he got from having a different body design.

Jumping at the opportunity, Supinelu begins taking Nematus out onto the plains to begin honing his hunting skills. He tought the boy the locations of game trails, known nesting grounds for game and monsters alike, the extreme dangers of the Zertinan caverns, and the migration patterns of the beasts on the plains. After several months, he began showing Nematus how to identify and track each beast; how to calm his body and mind and pay attention to the land around him, because it always holds some kind of danger; to prepare traps and out-think monsters, how to determine from the humidity what kind of weather to expect and when the seasons changed, and finally, how and where to look for weakspots on each monster.

To Nematus, the amount of knowledge his father knew appeared to be limitless. Never could he have imagined so many things when hunting on the Ozmone plains. So, one can imagine his surprise when his father finally told him he was ready to go on his first hunt and also to fight a zaghnar. It was a rite-of-passage amongst the young boys of the Jahara village, as to be able to successfully hunt would show that he could provide for the village, and to be able to defeat a zaghnal would prove that there would be hardly any monster that would harm him while hunting or foraging.

On the selected week of his rite, there were several other boys attempting it as well. He knew them all so well and was friend to most, if not all of them. Most were 16 hume years, but not him. He was only 11yrs old. If the rest his age were to learn everything he did in the order he learned them, then they'd be still trying to learn how to identify beasts by their tracks. His father called him a true prodigy, which made him happier than anything. Having been taught about respect and all by his mother for four years, he knew that to boast would cause the villagers to frown upon him and his family.

Hurting his mother's feelings would be the most painful wound of all, so keeping her teachings in mind, he never did more than smile when they cheered for him as he and the others trekked off onto the vast Ozmone plains. There were two Garif warriors standing guard by the edge of the path that lead to the village. There, they handed the students the necessary weapons needed to make a trap and to fight a zaghnal. With just a nod of assurance from the warriors, the younglings went out on their own with their blades and food.

Nematus had made quick work of finding a fresh trail, one that led through the tall grass. He'd have to be very careful here. Vipers loved to hide underneath rocks and within tall grass to surprise potential prey; and what better prey than a hume child, barely an adolescent. His wariness paid off. Not one second after he came within five meters of the tall grass did the massive snake spring out of its hiding place.

They normally pause before attempting some sort of attack, his father taught him. He momentarily dull their senses when the come forth so quickly, intending on just recovering from it and attacking while the prey is still startled. Unfortunately for this viper, Nematus was expecting it and already had his weapon drawn. Seizing the moment that the viper's equilibrium was off, Nematus severed its head with one swing. The headless body would flounder around for several minutes, the nerves not yet dead from the quick decapitation.

'This is perfect', he thought. Now he had live-bait; he stressed the word 'live'. He drew upon his knowledge of trap making from his memory and soon had the contraption done in less than 30 minutes. His father would have been proud. It was a simple design: he'd lay the bait down in the middle of the path, between two suspended strings that were about knee high and went across the path. When a hungry animal would approach, its foot would push against the string, causing it to snap, which would unleashed a limb held under stress that had sharp sticks strapped to it. The limb would snap forward, impaling any unlucky prey. The tips of the spikes were coated with poison from the viper, so even if the trap didn't kill the prey immediately, the venom would soon afterwards.

He left the path, but not before marking its entrances with a red paint, a signal to let other Garif know that the area was trapped and extreme caution should be taken. After setting up three more traps in a triangle pattern around the first one, using chopped chunks of the first serpent, which still would twitch every now and than, he finally rested. Keeping his back against the rock wall that snaked through the plains, he rested his body and mind and gave an attentive ear to the land around him like his father taught him.

He could hear in the distance the challenging roars of two zu, probably over a mate or nesting ground. To the South, he could hear the faint 'neeees' of a small herd of mesminir grazing. His ears picked up the faint sound of footsteps moving far away, perhaps two hundred yards, and could feel the vibrations traveling from the ground up into his body. The numerous volcanic rocks underneath the ground made for an excellent tool to detect large monsters or invaders. This sound could only belong to the enkelados, the massive, two-legged dinosaur that roamed the northern region of the plains. It only came out under certain conditions, so it was rare to ever hear one, much less see one.

A sudden wailing cry from nearby drew Nematus' attention. A monster had gotten snagged on one of his traps. Moving with caution, he caught sight of his prey. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was a bull croc! This gators weren't any stronger than the other monsters on the plain, but they were extremely rare. Knowing that its weakness was earth, he gathered the strange energy inside his body, an energy commonly known as 'mist', and shot a snake-like stream of green mist at the croc.

Much to his excitement, it worked. The brown fur of the croc turned a pukish green, a side-effect of being inflicted with sap. Now the croc was both poisoned and losing energy. Summoning up more mist, he casted a quake spell. The ground cracked underneath the irate beast than shot upward into rock spikes. Several punctured the beast, but they soon broke off. Not having to finish it off up close, Nematus stayed out of sight till the combined effort of the poison and sap drained all the life out of beast. After what felt like thirty minutes of struggling and rampaging, the bull croc finally fell dead.

With joy, he let out a whistle that all trainees and Garif hunters & warriors learn to signal that a kill has been made. It took him much longer to learn it, given that his body isn't like the garif's. About ten minutes later, two hunters arrived at his spot. Expecting a mesminir or viper, they were shocked as well to see that their little hume hunter caught one of the rarest monsters in Ozmone Plains. They congratulate him and continue to inspect how he field dresses it, making sure his technique is of good mastery. When he finished, they both agreed that it was done correctly and take the now-much lighter carcass with them to the village.

"Now, all you must do is slain zaghnal. Be very careful. You know they never travel by themselves. We hope to see you return to us soon, young Nematus."

"War-Chief Supinelu will brag about this kill for months," the other one said. "We will have to sew his lips shut to give our ears rest."

They shared a good laugh and left the boy to complete his rite. Nematus silenced his doubts and butterflies and made his way to the middle of the plain. Zaghnals could always be found there. He wasn't wrong, either. It didn't take him thirty seconds to find a pair of the large, bi-pedal werewolves stomping around. He approached them and gave out a battle cry. The werewolves understood this very well, having seen this same action took place countless times. It was a challenge from any young Garif wanting to prove himself a man. Much to their confusion, this one was just a hume child.

Eager to get an easy meal, they both rush at him. Nematus had focused more of his mist energy and launched another quake spell. The ground shook, making one beast fall on his back, which got impaled several times by rock spikes, while the other got enough with just a deep laceration on its back. It roared in anger before breaking the spikes impaling its partner. The zaghnal didn't respond, which only infuriated the wounded one more. It dranked something, turning its skin red. Nematus heard about this. That zaghnal just drank a bacchu's wine, sending it into berserk mode.

It gave another roar before rushing at the boy. Nematus steeled himself and rushed forward as well, his Garif blade ready to draw more blood. When the werewolf swung his right claw in a horizontal motion, the boy rolled underneath it and landed a large cut to the back of the beast's right knee, crippling that leg. Adrenaline now pumping freely through his veins, Nematus jumped into the air about twenty feet, higher than he had done ever before, and drove the end of his blade deep into the wolf's back. With a burst of strength, he twisted and pulled the blade, cutting through the zaghnal's spinal cord.

Glee could be seen in his eyes from behind the Garif mask he wore, personifying his excitement and happiness. With a low, sad howl, the zaghnal fell forward dead. He gave another whistle, this one made for signifying the completion of his rite. He suddenly heard some clapping from behind him. He turned and saw a small lot of various beings, mostly humes and bangaa, giving him a small applause. A hume man in about his thirties stepped forth.

"You've got some skill, kid. How old are you?"

"I'm eleven. The youngest one to ever undertake the Garif's rite-of-adulthood," he answered proudly. His enthusiasm seemed to feed the man's chuckle.

"Well, you're pretty damn good for a child. Now what on Earth is an eleven year old doing taking a Garif rite-of-adulthood?" he asked curiously.

"I'm the son of War-Chief Supinelu and healer Tanyar. They said I was ready, so they let me take it."

"You're parents are Garif?" He looked between his fellow companions and they all shared a silent conversation, quickly coming to the likely conclusion that this boy was an orphan of the plague. These Garif must've raised him up from a very young age if he's calling them his parents.

"Who might you be?" Nematus asked. The man did a gracious bow in apology.

"I'm sorry, how rude of me. We are just a clan that hunts down marks and rare games. We were coming here to hunt down the bull croc. You think you might know where we could find it?"

They seemed to already know this answer, judging by the gleam in his eyes. "I do. You can find it in the village. I killed it earlier!" There were some complaints from the group at hearing their mark was snagged by an eleven year old. The only one who didn't seem upset was the leader.

"Tell you what, you've got some serious potential, my fellow Garif. We operate out of Nalbina. If I came back in a few years, would you be interested in joining our Clan? We travel all over Ivalice to hunt dangerous monsters and make a name for ourselves. Would you like to think that over?"

Not knowing what to say really, Nematus nodded slowly. The group said farewell and started making their way to the last known location of another mark they'd accepted. A few minutes later, two Garif warriors came up and applauded him for his completion. They severed the heads and brought them to the village as proof to the clan that their little hume Garif was no longer a feeble boy, but a hunter/warrior. Hopefully, he won't have to protect or provide for the clan for three or four more years. He's had such a busy, time-consuming childhood, he hasn't ever spent any time for himself.

By the end of the day, every one of the Garif trainees returned successful, calling for a great celebration. Not in a long time has all of their younglings come back safe and sound. They prepared the meat that was caught for tomorrow night's ceremony to end the rites. The giving out of the masks that the new hunters and warriors will wear and grow into for the rest of their life.

Tanyar smothered her hume child in her arms in happiness when he had arrived with the warriors. "Nematus! I'm so proud of you, my son!" She shared the embrace with her other son as well. The small four year Garif child, Johan, laughed happily as he jumped into the embrace of his big brother.

"Waaay goo, Nema...Nema-TUSH!" The small group laughed at the child's mispronunciation.

Supinelu grabbed Nematus from behind in a monstrous bearhug and lifted him clear off his feet. "That's my boy! The hunters told me you had caught that bull croc and I couldn't believe it! You've made me so proud!"

"Dad, there's something...I need...to tell you!" the boy cried out while being shaked. The War-Chief set him down, the excitement visible through his mask. "What is it, Son?"

Nematus told them about meeting the hunting clan just after killing the two zaghnals and what their leader said and about his offer. That sorta crushed the mood. Johan misunderstood and became afraid that 'Nematush' was going to leave them. Tanyar and Supinelu tried to be as open to the idea as possible, but they were still worried. Joining a mark hunting clan would mean that Nematus would get to travel the world, even revisit, but the purposes would mainly be to hunt dangerous monsters.

They had a serious discussion that night while in bed. They were obviously worried, but Supinelu was leaning towards letting him join. It had nothing to do with him being a hume, but..he had completed a task that was suppose to be impossible for one his age. At this rate, there would be way he could get stronger. That was their vow they promised to each other: they'd raise him to the best of their ability to become strong enough to protect himself, his friends, and family. It's very possible that no one in the village will be able to push him to his full potential.

"Than it's decided. I will train him as hard as I can. The man said he'd come by in a few years. By than...Nematus will have already become better than me. We'll let him go," Supinelu decided. "But...only if he promises to visit." He added that last part to cure the frown he knew was under his mate's mask.

"Thank you," she said softly. They soon went to sleep, though not easily.

_-3 years later_

Nematus stood triumphantly over his father. This was the tenth straight victory he's had over the War-Chief. He has come a long way. The week following his masking ceremony, Nematus' father has trained him almost every day for the past three years. In the mornings, they'd run through the Ozmone plains; the purpose being to being able to run and maneuver while working on reflexes by dodging vipers and spells and attacks thrown at them by just about everything. Than, throughout the day, they'd spar till the sun sets.

During the night, Supinelu would take Nematus just outside the village to find solitude so he could pray that the gods would bless his son and make him as strong as the mountains. Nematus' constant improvements in all of his skills were the only signs of proof he had to continue the ritual. Nematus was getting taller and stronger over the course of that first year. His progress was astounding. It's as if his body would absorb everything and was still starving for more.

Over the course of the second year, Supinelu decided to train Nematus within the bowels of the Zertinan Caverns. A horrible place, the caverns are. They're filled to the top with powerful monsters of all sorts, along with natural dangers, such as loose boulders and quicksand. There was life-threatening danger all around all the time. The War-Chief was proud of his son's progress, but he was still apprehensive. If Nematus was too soon become too powerful for these monsters, than the only places left with beasts that could make him stronger were the Feywood and the Henne Mines.

They'd have to cross through the Golmore Jungle to get there. The Viera are familiar with the Garif people, so they shouldn't have too much problem towards them. They recognized the nearby Jahara village as a tribe like their own, though more open. Where as the habitat they were the masters of was the forest, the Garifs were the masters of the Ozmone Plains. Yes, they wouldn't have too much problem with them crossing to the Feywood, save for suspicions about why a hume child and a Garif War-Chief would want to go to such a cursed land.

Much to his expectations, Nematus soon became strong enough to brave the Zertinan Caverns on his own whenever Supinelu wasn't able to go. If one were to use libra on him, they see Nematus' power level around the mid-forties. He was much stronger than all the other Garif, possibly even most of the Viera wood-warders. Supinelu wanted to hold back till the end of the second year to take his powerful son to the Feywood, but when he started killing most of the monsters with a single spell or a few attacks, he knew that he would be holding him back. He couldn't break his promise. If he could get him stronger, than by the gods, he'll take him to the Feywood and Henne Mines himself.

Only three quarters through the second year did the two take their first steps into the Golmore Jungle. The dense, dark woods were a far-cry from the openess and sun-lighted paths of the Plains. This was no place for a Garif. Nematus and Supinelu used the techniques they used on the plains to safely navigate through the woods. They successfully avoided giant tree monsters and strange cats and wolves. Because they had trained ears, they just barely heard a pack of Viera wood-warders getting into position in the tree tops around them.

"Forest Guardians, please don't attack. We only mean to travel to the Feywood," Supinelu called out. Seeing that their cover was blown, six tall, fierce, but beautiful, Viera women hopped from their perches onto the platform, completely surrounding the strange pair.

"Why is a Garif traveling here. This is no place for your kind," one spoke. She was much taller and muscular than the others (one of Kel's super Viera) and her image demanded absolute authority. However, the two were not intimidated as much as she'd hope.

"My son has become too strong for the beasts that roam the plains and caverns. We seek stronger ones in the Feywood and Henne Mines to help him grow into a better warrior," Supinelu explained.

She wouldn't have mind to let them pass, but something was off about his son. He looked very sick compared to his father. He wore the mask, but everything else: build, hair, skin-color; was just different. "Why does your son look so different?"

The War-Chief hesitated for a few moments to answer that question. His biggest concern would be to somehow make Nematus remember something he wouldn't, and being called out as a hume was a sure fire way to do it. "Nematus, cover your ears. Please."

The confusion couldn't be seen underneath the boy's mask, but he did as he was told. When he was sure his boy couldn't hear him, he answered the just as confused Viera. "Nematus is a hume. His family was killed by beasts on the Ozmone Plain when he was just a tiny child. He was injured in the process and can't remember anything about his life with his family. Me and my mate took him as our own and have raised him for eight years, so far. He has been raised just like a Garif, and even completed his rites-of-adulthood a year-and-a-half ago. He is the strongest Garif...even stronger than me. The reason I want him to become so strong is so that he will be able to protect hisself, his friends, and his family. This is why I beg you make an exception for him."

The Viera were stunned. They shared many whispers among one another, trying to take in this unbelievable story. One Viera in particular looked very concerned, but none asked her about it. The 'super-Viera' finally ended the talks and turned back to their visitors. "All that we ask is that we see his face. I understand that you Garif keep your masks worn till death, but we only wish to know what he looks like so we may not accidentally mistake him for an imposter and shoot him."

It was a very large request, but one that was understandable. The Viera have had very hostile history with the humes, so if they knew what Nematus looked like, they could always check the identity of anyone who tried to travel through the Wood dressed as a Gariff and see if it's an imposter. Reluctantly, he motioned for his son to drop his hands.

"Son, I want you to take off your mask."

"What! Why, Father?" Nematus couldn't understand why. Being raised in Garif culture, he understood that Garifs wore their masks till they died. Why was he an exception?

"It's because you look different, Son. They only wish to memorize your face so they don't mistake you for someone else."

Still confused and upset about it, Nematus slowly pulled his bone mask off of is head, revealing his face to the Viera. He was a slightly tan hume boy with a strong looking face. Indeed, his eyes, which were an unusual yellow color, showed a fire burning in them. One that resembled some of the eyes Viera warders get when they're determined. He had brown, messy hair that went to his neck and had bangs that came down almost to his eyebrows. There was a good chance that he would grow to be a strong, handsome young man.

Satisfied with having his face drawn into memory, and only when they felt sure that they could spot him out of a bustling crowd, they nodded and the massive Viera woman nodded appreciatively as well. Not having to be told, Nematus eagerly put his mask back on.

"Thank you for being so accepting, Forest Guardian. I understand that your people and the humes are not very friendly," Supinelu said with relief. The Viera all acknowledged, some glad to finally meet a hume who was different from the rest.

"He is a very rare exception, Garif. Please be careful. The Feywood is a very dangerous place. Especially for a young man like Nematus." She added the 'young man' part as respect towards his accomplishments at such a young age.

They bidded the two farewell and watched them walk off, still reeling from that strange story. While the two were walking, Nematus muttered to his dad. "Wow...those were Viera? They're beautiful," he admitted, completely unaware of how well a Viera's hearing was. The group of women giggled and felt flattered by the innocent boy's compliment. They soon left to continue their patrol.

The War-Chief and his son had reached the Feywood in about thirty minutes. There was a huge opening in an even bigger rock wall that marked the beginning of the mist-infested valley. The fog was so thick, the two could hardly see thirty feet in front of them. They hadn't walked for one minute into the woods before six mirrorknights, bird-like monsters that resembled the Wu from the plains, surrounded them. Thus their quest for strength resumed with blood and battle cries. All of the beasts within the Feywood perked their ears up and turned their heads towards the general direction of the rucus. It would be the battlecry they would come to fear for the next year in a half.

_-1.5 years later_

The man by the name of Cifer Klaudias, the leader of the 13 Swords Clan, was keeping his promise that he'd made a certain Garif/hume child three years ago. He had found himself wondering how the child was doing throughout these past years. He'd meant to go check up on him, but business has been a'boomin' lately, so his hands have been tied. When one mark was calling for them just a few days ago, he'd forcibly stopped each and every one of his subordinates to drop the mark so they could make an old appointment.

He had brought a few others with him on this particular assignment. The rest of the clan voiced their opinion on the matter. They would accept the kid if he could prove himself, but they didn't think he will seriously consider it. None the less, a promise is a promise, and Cifer Klaudias keeps his promises. So, not three days ago had he began his trek back to the Ozmone Plains.

He arrived at the path to the village and explained his business. When he mentioned having made a promise to a hume boy who was taking his rites-of-adulthood, they immediately knew who he was talking about. By what they've told him, that 'little hume boy' has made quite a reputation for himself within the village. He and the others entered the village, greeted by polite Garif either tending to their livestock or preparing the night's supper.

When he made his way deeper, he was approached by a muscular Garif. "I'm Supinelu, the War-Chief of Jahara village. Am I right that you are the leader of the hunter's clan that came by here three years ago?"

He was surprised that they remembered such a thing so easily. The Garif took his silence as a yes and motioned for them to follow. "Come with me. You seek an answer from my son, Nematus. We have been preparing for this day for three years."

Cifer hadn't expected an answer like that at all. That kid sure had some dedication. He was motioned to wait outside a tent as the War-Chief entered. Seconds later, another one rushed out of the tent. He was a much thinner Garif that had lighter skin and no fur anywhere. Not to say he wasn't muscular. By far from it. He had the body that can only be achieved by years of hard constant training. His face was covered by a mask just like the rest of the natives, so his face couldn't be seen.

Supinelu soon came out and made the introductions. "This is my son, Nematus, the one who you had talked to years ago. He is only 14yrs old now, but he has long surpassed all of the Garif in combat and hunting ability. It was years ago when he was able to finally better me. Nematus, you remember this man."

"I could not forget. Mister-"

"You may call me Cifer, Nematus. I must say, you've done quite a bit of growing lately."

The boy slowly nodded. "We'd long since made our decision. We'd made a promise to make him as strong as possible, to push him to his maximum potential," the father explained. "After he became too strong for the monsters on the plains and in the Zertinan Caverns, we got permission from the Viera to travel through the Golmore Jungle to train in the Feywood and Henne Mines. The Henne Mines still have monsters that prove to be somewhat of a challenge, but he has proven that none is stronger in a one on one match."

Cifer let out a low whistle. "You really took this whole offer seriously, didn't you? You know, I really respect that. Not many will have ever worked as hard as I've heard you worked. I would be honored to have you as a fellow hunter. Are you sure you're ready to leave your home at such a young age?"

Supinelu was glad that this man showed this much concern about Nematus' personal being. It was a quality of a good leader. "Yes," his son answered. "We've known this day was coming. My belongings are already packed. I've only to say farewell to my mother and little brother."

"Ohh, you've got a little brother? Congratulations, though I believe I might be horribly overdued," Cifer said apologetically. They dismissed it.

So Nematus said good-bye to his mother and little brother, the former forcing Cifer to promise to watch over him or she'd skin him like she does to vipers. Taking the hint, he sincerely promised her he'd look over him with his life, though the danger will still be there. They've lost two members this year already. He said he'd make sure not to let Nematus become the next one, or any.

Hugging his family for what would be the last time for over an entire year, Nematus convinced the group to make a quick detour through to the Golmore Jungle to say farewell to some of the Viera he had befriended over the year. Their group was met with several warning arrows, but Nematus called out, announcing that it was him. Four of the first six Viera he had first met were among this patrol, including the same 'super-Viera'. He showed them his face for confirmation, which made them relax a little bit. They were still wary of the others.

"They are monster hunters. They travel the world to hunt dangerous beasts. This is what I've been training all these years for," he said. The four that knew him: Jote, Mrjn, Krjn, and Sytk (the super-Viera), smiled, but looked sad. This was perhaps their favorite hume...no, he was Garif, they agreed. And perhaps some Viera, as he has learned some things from them as well, such as discerning the noises of the wood, Vieran calls that patrols use to communicate with each other, and some of their customs. He has yet to be allowed into the village, though they were sure he would've become trusted enough by the elders to have entrance.

Saying his farewells and promising that he'd return, even with gifts from his travels, he hugged them each goodbye, though his arms wrapped around their butts. He knew them enough to push such thoughts out of mind. After they said their goodbyes, and the Viera promised to tell everyone he wishes them well, the group left the Golmore Jungle and then left the Ozmone plains, the only things he was carrying were his mask, some of his Garif clothes, and a necklace with a magicite stone that Jote gave him, along with a bone necklace his mother made for him. He clutched both of them cherishingly as he, Cifer, and the few other clan members stepped into the Giza Plains.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's the second chapter of my OC's beginning. He's trained for many years and even made friends with the Viera. How will he adapt to the new places he'll see? Better yet, how will Ivalice react to the very first Garif-raised/partly Vieran tought hume? Please keep in touch with the story to find out!**


	3. First Hunt

**A/N: Here's the third chapter. We'll go over Nematus' first hunt in this chapter, as well as having a chance meeting with our favorite Viera. No, not Stitches or Tall Ears.. Also, we're gonna find out why Nematus, spite his strange self, is the perfect wingman for Judgement. :D**

**Note: Spells and signature moves will be in **bold when performed. Also, I'm aware I got some of the Viera names wrong, but I fixed that in this chapter. All of this to appease Zodiark's grammar OCD. :P****

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><p>History of Nematus Draken Lazarus<p>

Chapter 3 Nematus' First Hunt, Pwr lv. 58

Cifer's group had arrived a few days later at the small nomad village in the Giza Plains. They figured this would be a good spot to set up camp for a little bit before heading into the city of Rabanastre. Nematus had taken in all the new sights and unfamiliar animals and plants with great interest, spending his free time either sleeping, studying, or questioning the people of the camp about the land, its seasons, and animals. All those years of tutoring underneath his mother and father played a big part in his reasons. It had merely become a habit to learn about the area while he could.

Deciding now was better than none, Cifer decided to judge his newest member's strength and skill in a bout. The boy fearlessly stepped forth, excitement shining from the holes of his mask, and drew his twin Garif blades. The two were a nice distance away from the villagers, so their battle shouldn't disturb anyone. The boy's eyes showed eagerness, much more than Cifer thought was necessary. 'Let's see what the boy's got.'

Breaking the staring contest, Nematus ran and jumped towards the man and brought both his swords down. Cifer executed a flawless parry, but to his surprise, the ground cratered inwards a good two feet underneath him from the blow. He found his arms quivering from the strength and power this kid was using. ''Impressive.''

He used the pressure Nematus was using to slip underneath, throwing the Garif-hume off-balance. With the opening he was expecting, he went for a vertical slash down his opponent's back, but Nematus rolled to the side just in time. Regaining his footing, the young boy began gathering mist within his blades and arms, further surprising the hunters, both Cifer and their audience, that he had this much knowledge of mist at his age.

With a massive double-bladed swing, he smashed the ground, causing it to crack open in several lines towards him. He jumped into the air, than proceeded to use aerial recovery to reach higher. He was at about fifty feet when the attack made its way to where he was once standing and the ground caved in before dozens of rock spikes erupted from the earth. 'He had gathered his power and combined it with a quake spell? Clever.'

Nematus didn't know how Cifer had jumped that high into the sky. It looked like he was flying! "What technique is that?" he called out.

"It is simply called 'aerial recovery'. It's being able to regain your body in the air and jump again. It takes some effort to get it right, though. Most have to gather their mist into their legs to accomplish it. Didn't you do it to perform that jump just a while ago?"

He took that silence as a 'definitive no'. "So, you're performing those feats with just the strength in your legs alone? You're turning out to really be something else, kid." He raised his hand up and gathered a ball of fire in it. "**Fira**!"

The second level fire spell shot from his palm in seven different directions. They all went wide in an arc before convering on Nematus' position. The boy was unfamiliar with the spell since their usage was limited to very few in his village. The only ones he knew were Quake, Quake2, Bio, and Cure. The fira was obviously self-explanatory, so he did his best to avoid it. Jumping forward at the dirt, the explosion from the flames rolled him forward several yards before dying down. His back was in some pain. The heat from the fire had burnt any hair that was on his back, as well as charring the Garif warrior, sleevless vest he wore.

He staggered back to his feet just to nearly lose his head from a side-ways slash from the mark hunter. Thanks to his years of reflex training on the plains, he ducked underneath it far enough to even save his mask from any damage. Having lost one of his blades when he dodged that Fira spell, he swung his remaining blade upwards at the opening Cifer's missed swing made. To his joy, he drew blood, though the cut was only a shallow inch up the length of his chest.

The man jumped back and examined his wounds through the torn shirt that now exposed his body. He raised an eyebrow at the kid who he was sure was grinning. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all. I think I've found some idea of your skills." He started a cura spell with his left hand that began closing the wound in seconds. "You've got brute strength, that much was obvious. You're also not just a musclehead, as you showed creativeness in combining spells with physical attacks. You have knowledge of spells, so you don't rely solely on your strength, which is good. Only a fool would think he could win everytime with the same method. You've got the knowledge and makings of a fine hunter in you, Nematus. You're parents really didn't leave anything out of the equation."

When he finished, his spell had completely healed the wound, showing no reason for the blood on his clothes. "We'll rest for the night before making our way into Rabanastre. You'll love it. It's a beautiful city. Hard to believe it had been nearly destroyed completely by the plague those many years ago."

So the two headed back to their make-shift camp and rested for the night. When morning came, they broke camp and walked the next hour to Rabanastre. Even from this great distance, Nematus could see the walls of the city. He couldn't believe something that big could be made by mortals. His eyes were wide with awe when they finally arrived at the south gate. He'd never seen anything like this city before.

After identifying who they were, they were permitted to enter the city by the friendly Dalmascan guards. Once inside, he was greeted with a large set of stairs. Much more eager then the others, he ran up them to view the rest of the city. When he got to the top, he wasn't disappointed. His senses were assaulted with a great multitude of different smells, sounds, and sights. His bare feet didn't approve of the cold, stone grounds, but he hardly noticed it.

He presence was met with strange stares from any who passed him. I mean, how often do you see a hume wearing a large bone mask and is only clothed with hide pants. You'd think the hume had turned into a caveman or something.

"Come on, boy. I know I told you that our base was in Nalbina, but that was three years ago. Things have gotten tense there as Archadia and Dalmasca haven't been getting along too well. It's not very far to our clan headquarters from here. There, we can get you some more appropriate clothes, if you'd like?" Cifer asked. At that moment, a pair of Viera women walked by wearing tops that only covered enough to hide their breasts, and skirts that were cut along the sides to allow for mobility.

"They're wearing less then me," Nematus shot back. Cifer gave a hearty laugh before breaking the bad news.

"Yes, they are. But they're attractive...you're not." The boy shoved the joking man's hands off of his shoulder. The Viera continued on their way, but they gave Nematus a curious stare, probably wondering what species he was suppose to be, or if he was just another crazy hume. However, they stopped when they saw the magicite necklace around his neck.

"Hello, young one," they greeted politely. "That necklace...where did you get it?" one of them asked.

"My friend, Jote, gave it to me before I left the Ozmone Plains."

Their brows rose when he spoke of Jote. Last they heard, she had just been working on getting a position of elder. They were good friends of her before they left the Wood. How would this hume know her, much less befriend her? Yet, he stands there with a necklace that Jote was well-known for making for ones she trusted. "How is Jote?"

"She is doing well. She was suspicious of me and my father at first when we asked for permission to travel through the Wood to train in the Feywood, but after so long, her and others soon trusted us and even became our friends."

Cifer couldn't help but envy the kid while in disbelief. He happened to be so strong at his young age, but that paled in comparison to his obvious talent of befriending Viera. Even the ones outside of the Wood were enigmas, not usually saying more than 'hello' before shutting out any attempt of conversations. Yet, here was this 14yr hume kid dressed as a Garif warrior getting their attention without even approaching. 'The boy has no idea how lucky he is.'

When they had finally stopped talking, he bidded them farewell in the some kind of way, which seemed to have pleased them much. Cifer placed an arm around the boy's shoulders. "I think I just found the perfect wingman."

Nematus ignored the question of what a 'wingman' was, and they continued on towards their hideout. When they arrived, there was a small sign on a door of a large building.

_13 Swords Clan_

_Current_ _master-Cifer Klaudias_

Subtle, definately. The group entered the building and soon met with the rest of the clan members. The other nine began introducing themselves one by one. Some were open-minded to Nematus' entrance into the clan, while others weren't happy that a child was allowed.

Nematus was allowed to explore the city for the rest of the week to get familiar with it. He was guided by a bangaa, one of the members who were okay with Nematus' induction. They explored all the areas of the city that they could, from the lowest levels in the Garamsthye Waterway and Lowtown to the front of the royal palace. Everywhere he went, he got stares and questions from all: hume, seeq, a moogle, bangaa, and even more Viera. The guy giving him the tour couldn't believe how everyone became amazed with a human wearing a bone skull.

'Shouldn't people be running from him?'

Anyway, after that week of constant exploration, Cifer finally decided to let Nematus come with him and two others on a hunt. But, before the boy could even go fetch some of his things, Cifer held out a two-handed longsword to him. He was giving him a Save The Queen?

"This will do alot better than those Garif weapons of yours. With your strength, you should have no problems wielding it." Nematus took it with a single hand with some effort. He found some space and practiced an upward and downward combo. He noticed his swinging speed faster with both hands, but something about having to use two hands seemed to not sit well with him. He practice a few more swings, both vertical and horizontal, and than a couple of thrusts before he felt somewhat use to it.

Cifer watched amusingly as the obstinate boy refused to use it like it was meant. "That Save The Queen. She's one of the finest brands of great swords on the market. You better take care of it. It cost me 15000gil."

"Thank you. This means alot," Nematus said. A couple of seconds later, he shocked some of the members present by asking, "What's gil?" He received some groans of disbelief from his fellow comrades. Well, when one grows up living off the land, providing his own food, shelter, and clothing with his bare hands, what value is a gold coin? Maybe to be used as a replacement for a board game piece at the most.

"It's money," Cifer explained. "It's used to buy various things from food and shelter, to transportation and entertainment. Not everybody can handle the life of farming and hunting, Nematus. It's something that is very stressful if you aren't born into it. Understand?"

He received a nod in reply. With that, they made their way to the aerodrome. From there, they bought four tickets to Balfonheim Port. Nematus had never been on an airship before. To say he was curious was an understatement. Every third step he took, he asked another question. The bangaa and male hume hunters that were with them were banging their heads repeatedly on the cabin's walls after the tenth question.

'They're really strange,' he thought.

He didn't sleep at all on the first half of the ride. He visited the cabins and restuarants, both asking and answering questions. The thought of a hume child being raised by the Garif people fascinated the inquisitive people. Hearing his story, they were more than happy to help explain some of the things about the modernized world, mainly air travel and trading between long distances. Though they felt sad that he had spent just about his entire childhood training in some form or fashion, he told them that it was his choice and that there were no regrets. They thought it was adorable and funny that he had no idea what gil was till this morning when his clan master explained it to him.

They decided to give him a free small meal, as a sort of welcoming into 'their' world, which he was thankful for. When he started eating it from underneath his mask, they asked him about it, to which he explained that Garif live their entire lives with their mask on. Only to confirm his identity to the Viera wood-warders did he ever take it off. No matter how many times they asked if they could see his face, he politely declined the passengers' pleads.

He spent the rest of the trip gazing over the skies from atop the ship. There were a few people up here as well, but this time he just kept to himself and enjoyed the breath-taking view of the world underneath him. In about twelve hours and one unexpected nap ontop of the ship later, he woke up to the sound of seagulls. One had landed near his head and inspected him. Cocking its head to the side a couple of times, the bird started pecking his skull, which woke him up.

"What is this?" The hume and the bird just stared at each other with equal curiosity.

"Mine! Mine!" The bird sqawked and started pecking his skull mask some more.

"Hey, don't eat my mask, you little bird!" He swatted the annoying bird away and groggily got to his feet. Yawning and stretching his back, he looked at the rising sun and lavished himself in its radiance. "It's beautiful."

"Don't humes like to sleep during the mornings?" someone asked. By her sweet-as-honey, soft voice, he wasn't surprised that it belonged to a Viera. He looked over his shoulder and saw a bombshell of a woman walking up to him. She leaned onto the side of the railing, letting the sun's warmth wash over her dark-brown skin as well. She wore a black outfit, obviously Viera in origin and style. She was just a couple of inches taller than him, despite his large size for a 14yr old. She had a massive head of pure white hair and dark red eyes, clearly identifying her as the same type he was friends with.

"You're from the Golmore Jungle?" he asked. She nodded and asked about him. "I'm hume...that much I've discovered, but I was raised by my Garif parents, Supinelu and Tanyar."

She knew the story. She was in the background, sitting idle on a sofa while she overheard him explaining his upbringing to curious passengers. "Yes, I've heard. You've a unique past. So, you are friends with Jote?" she asked, her eyes looking at the magicite necklace around his neck, recognizing her sister's handiwork.

"Yes," he answered. "I became friends with her, Sytk, Mjrn, Ktjn, and many others throughout my travels through the Wood. Was she a friend of yours?"

The Viera chuckled before bobbing her head up and down. "Yes...you see, Mjrn and Jote are my sisters."

Nematus reeled back from the sudden declaration. He knew there was another sister, that much Jote had told him. Mjrn would only mention her name before becoming too emotional to continue, so he didn't really learn anything else from her. Apparently, she still hadn't fully recovered from the sudden loss of her sister. "So...you're Fran?"

She was surprised, yes, that he knew her name. Apparently, he had not exaggerated with the word 'friends'. "I'm surprised my sister befriended a hume so well, but..I can understand why she would make an exception. You are indeed not like the masses of other humes. You are much different."

"May I ask you something, Fran?" he asked hesitantly. He knew these subjects were usually touchy, so he approached with caution.

"What is it you want to ask, Nematus?" Yeah, she also knew his name as well, apparently. And she had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to ask.

"Why did you leave the Wood? I know Jote still thinks of you as her little sister...and Mjrn..she can't even say your name without getting sad. Why would you leave your family?" She felt her stomach knot up at his words. Was it true that they still thought of her as a sister? Normally, if a Viera left, they were no longer considered Viera. She was no exception.

The silence that followed was very eerie, but she answered after what felt like minutes. "Probably the same reason you left yours." That part hit pretty close to home for him. He knew he left because his parents wanted him to get strong and become the best that he could be. He understood that he could not do that if he spent the rest of his life in the Jahara village. "I left...because I sought to explore the world. I excelled at my duties in the village, but my life..it felt like no matter what I did, there was always this emptiness in my heart. I believed that I could find my true self somewhere out here, beyond the shelter of the Wood."

She turned to him, filled with some mixed feelings. "Could you do me a favor?" He waited expectingly for the request. What could she possibly have him do for her? Give a message or something? "Could you show me your face? I wish to see the face that my sisters have so much trust in."

Normally, he would've shot her down like he did for all the other ones, but...this wasn't just some curious hume being nosy; no, this was the runaway sister of two of his close friends. Understanding her reasons, he brought his hands to his mask and slowly lifted it up. Her blood-red eyes looked over his young face, finding it hard to believe he was merely a teenager. Her gaze was returned by a pair of burning, amber-gold eyes that brimmed with youth and energy.

Fran, personally, really appreciated the what he told her. She hadn't seen her sisters for a little over forty years. Yes, she's met other Viera, but none were recently exiled. She longed to know how her family was doing. She had finally found someone who knew both Jote and Mjrn well. To her astonishment, it was a hume boy, of all people.

She wouldn't have ever considered the possibility of it. Best of all, he'd told her that her sisters still missed her, despite the GreenWord saying she herself was no longer a Viera. She found much comfort and happiness in his words, despite her calm face, and for that, she was very grateful. Plus, for a 14yr old, he wasn't bad-looking..

"Thank you," she said. Before he could pull the mask down, she gently stopped him and leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on his lips. Though it would have seemed sorta pedaphile to anyone watching for her to kiss him on the lips, she felt no feelings like that. It was soft and brief, but she got her intended message across. Pulling back, she giggled at the look of pure confusion that was on his face.

"What was that?" he asked. The gesture she just performed was completely foreign to him. Garifs didn't do that to each other. What did it mean? And why did he like it...no, love it, so much?

"That..was a kiss. It is usually shared between family, or people who love each other," she answered. He didn't know why, but his cheeks felt really hot right now. 'What is going on? Wait, is she saying she loves me? Or is she considering me family?' "It can also be shared by one to show so much thanks when words are not enough. You have given me news that I've dreamed to hear. For that, I am forever grateful."

He was still in a stupor. Only she noticed that they had finally arrived at Balfonheim port. She turned to leave, but looked over her shoulder at the boy who still hadn't pulled his mask back on. "Do take care, Nematus. I'm sure it would upset my sisters greatly if something were to happen to you." With that, she entered the airship and disappeared from his life for the time being.

He didn't tell the others about what had happened that morning and soon found himself immersed in the completely new region. It was unlike the Ozmone Plains, the Golmore Jungle, the Giza Plains, or Rabanastre. The port city was humble in its appearance and maintained a peaceful atmosphere, yet it was so full of activity.

"Alright, everyone. Our mark is the Bull Wyrm that is located on the Cerobi Steppi. Our client is a man who owns and rents out chocobos. He's got a certain Shield Wyrm that is particularly more aggressive than the other ones, finding his chocobos and customers as tasty meals. Business has been bad, as well as publicity, so he's hired us to take care of it. Nematus, I'll explain everything you need to know about the Shield Wyrm race on the way there."

They made their way to the east end of the port, the hunters uninterested in most of the scenery while Nematus was trying to memorize every little detail: the people, the crates, the buildings, the smells of the food, the materials that made the buildings, two hume sailors playing a strange game that involved little cubes, wagers, and deception. His senses tried to catch everything as his brain worked into overdrive to decipher them. Before he even knew it, his group had already talked to the client and they were on their way through the Steppi.

The sudden gusts of salty wind hit his mask and traveled through to his nose. He took a deep breath and released to calmed his mind. His bare feet, now on natural ground, helped to relax him as he closed his eyes and used his skills taught by his father and some of his Viera friends to 'become a part' of the land. It helped him to quickly become more aware of his surroundings. It's saved his life several times in the past, so he trusted it to help him now.

Hearing all of the noises and picturing what sound went to which creature, he recognized some kind of avion creature similar to an aeroes, a small growl that sounded like a feline, another piercing yell that sounded like another large bird, and finally a deep roar. It sounded reptile in nature, like the enkelados. It wasn't far, probably a mile away.

"I know where it is," Nematus spoke up, accidentally interrupting Cifer's organizing of the search patterns they were going to do. Everyone looked at him with a 'Come again?' face. "I know where the shield wyrm is," he said. "I used a technique that my father and the Golmore Viera tought me on listening to the land and pointing out which beasts belong to each trait that my senses pick up and how far away they are."

The two hunters looked towards their leader with some doubt about Nematus' claims, but Cifer wasn't quick to judge. "Well, we don't have anything to lose but time. Alright Nematus, just point where."

Nematus pointed his finger towards the silhouettes of the nearest windmills. "Near the windmills. There's where I would bet my right arm that it's at." Having listened to the boy's answer to search for any doubt or fib and found none, Cifer nodded and started towards their new destination.

"Let's get to it, then. That shield wyrm isn't going to kill itself, now will it?" The rest quickly followed behind, though Nematus stayed beside their leader.

"Thank you for trusting me. I know most people would doubt my abilities, since I'm just a kid to them." Cifer understood how much his decision to follow the boy's instincts meant to him. If it were any other, besides a Viera itself, he would have voted against it.

However, this child had been raised by Garifs, who have superior hearing and smelling to humes, as well as been tought some skills by the Viera of the Golmore Jungles, who are said to know where each and every beast was always at, as well as know the exact moment when someone entered the Wood. By all rights, this kid had more tracking experience and skill than all of the hunters in his clan combined.

They traveled and fought against many beasts of each of the sounds he had detected. Much to his pleasure, his imaging of what each noise resembled was accurate to some extent. The feline noises matched the bandercoeurl that they fought by the packs. The two different avion calls were bellwyverns and the charybterixes. There were very heavy sounds coming from the windmill arears, but they didn't belong to their mark. The sounds belonged to the adamantitan, a massive tortoise that immediately attacked them with waterga spells.

We discovered its weakness being thunder elemental attacks, so Cifer showed off some of his wizardry and cast ten thundaga spells consecutively and in quick succession. Apparently, Nematus was the only one who thought roasted tortoise smelled delicious. He even offered to sever a portion of it off to take as a snack. The action only made the team's stomachs upset.

They soon came upon a large pack of silver lobos, which were just another variant of wolves. Everyone held their own well as the pack was dispatched. Nematus was enjoying the new animals, yet they weren't any stronger then the ones in the Feywood, which kinda disappointed him. After another twenty minutes of fighting their way through the Cerobi hills, they finally made it to the first set of windmills. They looked around the area and were immediately graced with the bull wyrm they'd been hunting. They were confident that this was the one, since it was a dark-purple skin color and about twice the size as all the other wyrms they've avoided.

"Well, kid, looks like you were dead on. You'll have to teach me how you do that when we got some free time," Cifer announced. Nematus would've responded, but they had to scatter to dodge the fireball from the beast. Cifer quickly casted silence, slow, and blind, effectively making the beast harmless, unless it hit you with its fire breath.

"Alright, everyone. Let's show this wyrm what happens when you mess with the 13 Swords Clan. Close-quarters fighters should stick to the sides, but be mindful of their tails and head. There blindspots are smaller than you think."

With that, the group surrounded the beast in a box perimeter. The two other hunters, a bangaa for heavy hitting and a hume for support role, moved in first. The hume casted bravery and protect on his reptilian friend, making the hunter into a dangerous killing machine. He jumped onto its back with slasher axe and started hacking away at the beast. Unfortunately, even with the bravery buff, the wyrm's hide was still holding up against the brutal beating.

Nematus ran forward at its head, despite Cifer's warning. Swinging his sword over his head, a loud CLANG pierced the air as the sword rattled in his hand. The beast staggered back a few steps from the blunt hit. Hoping that was just a fluke, the boy continued a relentless barrage of swings, each one pounding against the bull wyrm's head with a force great enough to crack rock.

"Shit. Cifer, we're probably going to have to use magics. This un's armor is too strong." The bangaa jumped clear of the beast as it attempted to crush him by rolling onto its back. Nematus had been trained to watch for possible weakpoints on beasts that were known to be resilient. He witnessed the bangaa's attempts of harming the dragon prove futile, as well as suffered the humiliation of his own attacks' uselessness. Despite all this, Nematus was fascinated by the beast.

Its body, its strength and toughness, it was a beautiful being in the eyes of a hunter/warrior such as himself. He almost didn't want to kill it, but then again, this beast has been attacking and killing innocent people. That couldn't go unpunished. He stepped back and grabbed hold of his Save The Queen with both hands this time.

The others saw him preparing to strike again and tried to talk him out of it, save for Cifer, who wanted to see what the boy discovered that they hadn't. He looked again at the wyrm and noticed that it was on his back, trying to roll over. 'That might work.' "Ethaniel," he called to the hume, "give our boy a bravery buff. Let him give another crack at it."

The support fighter, Ethaniel, did as told and shot a bravery buff at Nematus. The boy's muscles soon stretched his skin as he gave a loud roar, as if he himself was a beast. In reality, it was just his battle cry that he'd use to issue a challenge to a strong foe. Sprinting forward, he lunged into the air and swung the greatsword down onto the belly of the beast with both his arms. The sound of something akin to a plate shattering and a squishing sound followed.

To their relief, Nematus had ripped through the softer hide of the belly and stabbed the Save The Queen's point deep into the beast. It gave a monstrous cry of pain before going silent. 'No way', the hunters all thought. 'He killed a massive wyrm with a single blow.' Nematus even thought that himself, but unfortunately, the moment he pulled the sword out, the beast jerked its body upward, throwing him off to the side. With a great show of determination, the wyrm got back to its feet. Blood freely fell from the deep belly wound, but the beast hardly gave it any attention.

But, their moral didn't fade, especially for Nematus. Now there was a hole in its defense, albeit a hard to reach one. "Too bad that wound couldn't have been somewhere else. We'd have to crawl underneath that thing to get a clean hit on it," the bangaa said.

"Relax, Squisgar. We've already got someone who can hit it. Nematus, why don't you try that quake spell you used on me in the Giza Plains?" Nematus nodded and began charging up the mist inside of his body. The purplish mist soon engulfed his entire right arm and greatsword.

"**QUAKE2!**" he roared as his sword slammed into the ground. The earth began cracking like before, but this time splitting into half a dozen snaking fissures towards the beast. It roared in challenge against the unknown threat, but it couldn't see or react fast enough to help itself, since it had both blind and slow ailments.

The ground cratered all around the beast in a circle about twenty feet in diameter, bringing the beast with it. Before it even hit the ground, several massive, sharp spikes shot from below. All of them broke against its hide, save for one, and that was all that was needed. A single spike punctured the hole Nematus' Save The Queen had made and went straight into its spinal column. The blow instantly killed it, ending the beast's reign of terror over travelers for good.

The group gave some cheers for Nematus, the 14yr old boy who killed a massive shield wyrm on his first hunt. Accepting the gracious applause, Nematus went forth and slashed at the killing spike, releasing the carcass back to the ground. He took his greatsword and began hacking away at the death wound and cleaning out any organs that got in his way.

"Kid, I think you killed it already," Ethaniel said. Cifer, like the others, was clueless as to what his new hunter was up to.

"Mind telling me what you're doing there, Nematus?" he asked. The masked boy answered their questions when he finally pulled out a giant piece of meat, or muscle, or...something. "Is that...the heart?" he asked.

O.O-Ethanial and Squisgar.

o.O-Cifer.

"Yes," the boy replied like nothing was wrong with what he was doing. "It was a custom for warriors of the Garif to eat the heart of a beast they felt was very strong. They'd believed that the strength the beast had possessed in its life would transfer to the body of whoever ate the heart. It's now only a custom that is still upheld by the most veteran of our hunters and warriors."

O.O-Everyone. "You're joking, right?" Ethaniel asked. The bangaa's stomach was suddenly feeling queesy.

"No. Why would I joke about that?" Not even waiting for an answer, the boy lifted his mask just enough to expose his mouth and sink his teeth into the giant muscle.

8O-Ethanial and Cifer. Squisgar turned around and puked till his stomach was dry. Cifer held his hand to his mouth to hopefully persuade his stomach from doing the same thing. "That's messed up, kid."

Nematus ignored Ethaniel's insult to his customs and continued for about five minutes till there was nothing left. Cifer was thankful that it was finally over. "Yeah, you might as well cut out the liver too. Wyrm livers fetch as high price on the market. You could use that money to..oh, I don't know..buy some mouthwash or something."

Seeing that that made sense and, not knowing sarcasm, went to work further gutting the wyrm. Ethaniel's stomach finally gave and he puked till he fell to his knees. Having missed the conversation, Toki had just finished emptying his stomach's contents and turned around when he saw the boy going back in for what he presumed was seconds. "Oh, by the Gods!"

He tried to vomit some more, but there was nothing, so he sat on all fours dry-heaving till he could no more. 'This kid is insane!'

After he had cut out the liver and wrapped it, he climbed up out of the crater to rejoin his companions. He was mystified to see two of them making weird while laid on all fours. 'It sounds like the mating call of a hellhound.'

"Are they alright?" he asked. The incredulous look Cifer was giving him confused him as well. The man relented from his stare after several silent moments.

"Nothing..nothing at all. Come on, Toki. Ethaniel. That reward isn't gonna walk to us." He light kicked the bangaa in the butt, accidentally causing him to roll over in his own pool of barf.

"Agghh, Cifer!...what the hell?" The poor guy managed to get to his feet on his own, all the while deciding whether or not to accept Cifer's apology or hit him in the face. Ethaniel slowly got up as well, so with the gang together, with the two keeping a good distance away from Nematus, they all made their way back to the entrance of the port and collected their money. The chocobo rangler decided not to ask about the blood staining the lower portion of Nematus' mask.

Since they just arrived, Cifer decided to show Nematus the market. Along in the streets where various shops selling magicks and medicinal items and food. They stopped at a vendor name Quayside Magickery. Cifer convinced Nematus that learning various other elemental spells would be most beneficial and keep him prepared for more types of enemies. So, with his share of the reward money, along with the price he fetched for his Wyrm liver, he had 26700gil. He had a large sack tied around his waist to keep it in.

With that money, he was able to buy the incantations for Thundaga, Firaga, and Darkga, leaving him with just 900gil left. Once he read the incantations, they became imbedded into his mind to use at will, availability of sufficient MP pending. They were very powerful magicks, the third level of them. The strongest he had ever used was the second level. He'll have to do much practice to use them to their fullest potential.

After that, they spent a few more hours exploring the port's stores before finding an inn and bunkering down for the night.

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><p><strong>AN: That's the third chapter of our Nematus' crazy life. I know that heart eating scene seemed messed up, but honestly, there's not alot of info on the Garif to go off of. They live similar to the natives in the western U.S., though with abit more farming. I happened to watch Dances with Wolves the other day and decided to use the scene where the soldier (I'm killing myself for not being able to remember his name) kills the buffalo and eats its heart to hopefully gain its strength, despite the whole thing being forced upon him by the natives he was hunting with.**

**KEVIN COSTNER! That's who it was! Anyway, off-topic. Now, a little birdy thought that the Viera in the Golmore were too trusting, but he did go back and forth through the jungles for over a year, constantly running into their group, so he kinda grew on them. I don't know about you, but a 1.5yrs is a long time to get to know somebody. Also, so nobody bites me for this, the scene with Fran...yeah, she hasn't met Balthier yet, and is still traveling by herself. Doing this for over forty years would have anyone a little homesick and curious about their family, am I right?**

**P.S. Who caught the Finding Nemo reference?**

**Anyway, this author's note is way to damn long, so I'm ending it here. See ya!**


	4. The Child's Return

**A/N: Here's the fourth chapter. In case some don't know, this is in an alternate reality, though the same one as Clan Infamous and all the other stories that relate to his. Alot of time will go by in this one, like in the second chapter, but with more details. Also, as requested, there will be more character development. I had no attention, whatsoever, of letting Nematus being a Gary stue. He isn't perfect or all powerful, or a goody-goody two-shoes either. He's going to get injured, beat up, and frustrated from time to time. **

**Also, I'd like to thank ZodiarkSavior for helping me with those earth spells. I didn't like using Quake1 & Quake2, so he made a list that I could use. Tremor, Fissure, Quake, and Quakeja are the spells in order from weakest to strongest. Note, this will how he will use them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that SquareEnix does.**

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><p><em>-2 years later, Nematus' age: 16, pwr lv: 72<em>

The 13 Swords Clan was doing well in their mark hunts lately. By the fourth month, each of the members had come to accept Nematus' presence. He had proven atleast another ten times that his killing of the Bull Wyrm was no fluke. Nobody questioned the boy's skills anymore. In fact, he has even started making a name for himself throughout Rabanastre throughout the many months. Little did he know that Cifer had helped in spreading word about him, looking after him from behind the scenes.

He had accumulated some wealth from his hunts as well, but he has only spent about a tenth of it on himself; the rest were gifts that he plans on giving to his friends and family the next time he goes to the Ozmone Plains and the Golmore Jungle. The bit he has spent on himself were mainly for new spells and equipment. From Balfonheim Port, he acquired Blizagga, Flare, and Protectga spells, and Dragon Mail from the armory shop. He liked it better than the stronger Carrabineer Mail because it fit him like another layer of skin.

As for his Save The Queen, he still had it, but he now favored the Ragnarok. Cifer had given it to him after he and several others came back from hunting the Ixion in the Pharaos. Unfortunately, the monsters there were truly vicious, as the clan had lost four of the eight hunters that went.

The group hasn't taken on any more marks for about a month now so everyone would have time to mourn and get over the deaths of their friends and comrades. Among those two were Toki and Ethaniel, both of which had grown into two of Nematus' best friends.

Life passed by him quickly after that. He stayed by himself most of time, going through a withdrawal or denial, or whatever one wanted to call it. It seemed to finally hit him how real mark hunting was. He had always approached each challenge with a calm mind and confidence that he'll get out alive, but when Toki and Ethaniel died, he experienced a serious reality check.

He couldn't even look back on his previous hunts without berating himself for his foolish acts of bravery, like when Cifer had warned them about attacking the Bull Wyrm head-on, but he had went ahead and attacked like a fool. He realized if it had not been for Cifer's blind, slow, and silence spells, than he'd probably have died that day.

He didn't hear the knocking on his door over the sound of his bantering, so he jumped in surprise when Cifer placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, kid. You know, beating yourself up won't fix anything, right?" The man gave a soft smile as he eyed his young member through his blonde bangs. "Tell you what, I've got something that could fix your little depression."

He handed Nematus a piece of paper, the boy instantly recognizing it as a mark petition. "Why do you think this will help?" he asked, eyes lowered underneath his mask.

"Because, you'll get to go home," the man replied. Nematus looked confused, than he actually read the petition.

_Petitioner: War-Chief Supinelu  
>Petitioner's location: Jahara<br>Mark: Catoblepas-Rank VI _

Nematus without another word started readying his things. He had a personal grudge against the Catoblepas. The beast had wounded his father's brother. The injury it dealt forced him to resign his position to Supinelu. Then, as if that wasn't enough, his father went years later to try and kill it and avenge his brother but was defeated as well.

Things will be different this time, that he promised.

"Told you it would work. I'll go with you whether you like it or not. I made a promise to your mother, afterall," he said with a smile. He was glad to see Nematus finally focused on something besides the death of his friends.

"Fine, but when we meet it, don't interfere. Please," Nematus begged. "This has nothing to do with pride or anything. It's very personal. The Catoblepas is an old enemy of the Jahara Clan."

"I'll think about it," the leader replied. "But if I find that you can't handle it, I'll step in to lend a hand. It'd be a shame if you died. I mean, you've got all those pretty women waiting for you to visit again." He softly laughed, referring to the boy's Viera friends.

His smile grew even more when he saw the boy fidget. He was aware that Nematus was starting to see women differently, so he often tried to irk him whenever he got the chance or saw the kid talking to some of the Vieras in Rabanastre who've come to befriend him.

He was also attracting some of the young hume women his age as well. There was something about a man in a mask that caught their fancy. Maybe he'd ought to start wearing one as well. He imagined himself knocking out several bandits who were trying to kidnap a beautiful damsel, instantly winning her heart with his bravery and mysteriousness.

"It's alright, Nematus. Everyone boy who grows up goes through what you are. It's only natural," he explained.

"I'm ready," Nematus said, refusing to reply to the comment. He had his Ragnarok strapped to its vertical sheath on his back, his sage's ring on his right hand, his two necklaces around his neck. He laid out a small blanket, than the gifts he'd bought for his family and friends on top of it. Making sure everything was spaced out, he rolled up the blanket, making an effective luggage case. Despite having money, he never spent any to upgrade his lifestyle, something that Cifer thought was honorable.

"No need to pack for the travel, boy." Cifer held out a yellow teleport crystal. "We can just use the teleport stone at the South Gate to get there. We'll end up right in front of your village."

The boy nodded gratefully and the duo made their way out of the clan HQ. Not stopping for anything, they made it too the teleport stone in just a few minutes. They held the small crystal to the stone and the duo disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

The ride, despite the distance, was almost instantaneous. The two hunters found themselves once again in the Jahara village. Nematus looked over everything, tears almost coming to his eyes. He was finally home again. Going on so many hunts, he hadn't realized how much he missed the familiar land, and the villagers, and the rocky terrain. His arrival caught the attention of several Garif nearby. One stuck out to him. Though Cifer was unable to determine who was who, Nematus knew who the Garif walking towards him with hesitant steps was immediately.

"MOTHER!" he shouted.

"NEMATUS!" Tanyar called back. The two ran and embraced each other in their arms. Nematus' tear ducts finally broke and he softly cried in happiness. His mother hugged him tight while petting the back of his head, making cooing noise to stop his tears. "It's so good to see you, Son. My goodness, you have grown so big."

She put some space between her and her son to look him over. He has grown atleast four inches, putting him at about six feet even. His build has gotten more sculpted as well. He looked so grown up compared to when she last saw him.

"Mom..."he forced, "I've missed you so much. I had meant to come sooner but..time flew by so fast. You won't believe all of the different places I've been to. All of the different lands, the cities and towns...they're incredible. The cities are so huge and full of people of all species. The lands are as vast as they are different. The sea..I even saw the sea. It was so beautiful, I wish you could've seen it."

He finally stopped to catch his breath. He could tell his mother was softly crying and smiliing underneath her mask. His mother was so happy to see him alive and happy.

"But..I've come to see Father. I've come to help him slay the Catoblepas." His mother recoiled as if she'd been struck by a viper.

"What?" she gasped. "You want to fight it? But...the Catoblepas is a terrible beast. Your father tried his best, but it was not enough," she explained, hoping to persuade him to rethink his decision.

"Ma'am," Cifer spoke up. "I've looked after your son for the past two years. I've seen him grow from a boy who was like an infant in our world to a man who's made quite a name for himself in several regions. He's made many friends..and lost some," their expressions fell at the mention of their four friends lost at the Pharos, "but I won't stop now. He won't be alone when he fights the Catoblepas. I'll look after him."

Though he words were of reassurance, they still did little to ease her stress, but they did let her know that Nematus was not going to be swayed from the path he has chosen. She sighed in defeat. "Very well. My mate's in his tent, resting. I'm sure he'll be overwhelmed with joy to see you have returned."

"Don't worry, Mother. I won't go today. There's too much that I want to do first." Nematus unrolled his pack, displaying the dozen number of items he had in there. She eyed them with curiosity. He picked up a vest that was obviously made after the Garif's vest style for women. It had a speckled pattern on it. "I've been waiting to give you this. I made this from the pelt of a creature called a 'bandercouerl.' They are found practically on the otherside of Ivalce."

He held it up for her to see. He saw her eyes widen through the hole's in her mask. Slowly, she took it from his hands and helf it out for herself to inspect it. "This is beautiful. And it's very well made."

"I learned from the best," he responded. He heard her *sniff* before being wrapped up in another hug.

"I will treasure this, my Son." He was surprised by how much strength his mother had. He was starting to worry when he felt his back pop a couple of times from the pressure.

"Umm...Mother...can't...breathe..." he forced out. She instantly dropped him and apologized, allowing him to catch his breath again. "Thanks...Mom..(recovers) I've got gifts for Father, Jote, Mjrn, Sytk, and Ktjn too. I can't wait to see how they're doing as well."

The three made their way through the village, Nematus' arrival conjuring quite a crowd of gatherers. He hugged and greeted everyone as fast as he could while still trying to be polite. His mother had to bulldoze a path for him straight to their tent. Seeing who he was wanting to see, they crowd quickly made room for the returning son of Supinelu and Tanyar.

When they arrived at the tent, the man they were looking for burst from the flaps like a bat out of hell. Nematus didn't have time to react as he father gave his expected greeting. "My Son! You've finally come back! I'm so glad to see you're well! My goodness, you've grown so big!" he assaulted the boy while swinging him side-to-side in the air like he weighed as much as feather.

With a sharp command from Tanyar who saw the pain evident on Nematus' face, he dropped his boy. He took a deep breath as the two just stared at each other. "You've really grown, Son. You're bigger than me now. hehe." He scratched the back of his head, not really knowning how to properly react.

Nematus didn't seem to mind. He seemed just as much at a loss for words as his father did. "I'm still your little son, Father. I've been trying to find time to come see you sooner. I was finally able to." He stopped for a few seconds, making an uncomfortable silence. "I'm here to answer your petition for the Catoblepas."

Those words erased the smile that was on Supinelu's face. In its place was one of incredible sterness. "Are you sure?" His son nodded and the two seemed to have a wordless conversation for what felt like hours before he accepted. "Very well," he said. He understood what was driving his son to do this. To deny his son this chance would hurt more than any wound he's received in his life.

Nematus sighed and relaxed his posture which had been stiff and firm. "I was planning on going tomorrow. There are still many people that I wish to see."

"Yes, I'm sure. Though, I have not been through the Golmore Jungle since our last day of training. Would you wish for me to go with you?" The boy shook his head.

"Only if you want to. I can make it there with no problems." The elder Garif declined.

"No, given this news, I will prepare our journey for tomorrow. The Catoblepas is deep within the caverns. You go and visit your friends," he commanded. Nematus obeyed, but not before unrolling the blanket with the gifts.

"Before I go, I've got this for you, Father." He picked up two different weapons: a penetrator crossbow and his old Save The Queen, the latter the War-Chief took first. "This was the first blade I had when I became a hunter. I used it to kill many great beasts. I want you to have it."

Supinelu looked over the blade that had been blemished with stains and dents from many years of use. "And this is the Penetrator Crossbow. It's one of the best on the markets," Nematus added. He handed over the large crossbow as well. Garif were quite familiar with the uses of crossbows, though they weren't as popular as their own home-made swords. His father took the other weapon and laid them both down.

"Thank you, Son. It's good that you thought about us. Johan will be excited to see you as well." The mention of his younger brother perked the teen up some.

"Where is he? I haven't seen him yet."

"He's helping the Great Chief with some tasks out in the field. Despite his young age, he's a great helper. He has about as much energy as you do." Nematus smiled as he imagined how big Johan has gotten and picturing him jumping from place to place. "He will not be back with the others till later today. You should go while you're free of him," Supinelu encouraged.

"Right." Saying their farewells for the meantime, Cifer had decided to sit this trip out while Nematus went himself, not wanting to possibly get shot. Nematus borrowed a chocobo to save time traveling. The large bird was cooperative and together, they sped off across the Plains like a yellow bullet. They traversed the entire region within an hour. When they got to the jungle's edge, he hopped off the bird and patted its hindquarter, shooing it off. Eagerly, the bird started making its way back to the village. Excited, he stepped into the Wood to make good on a promise he made to a certain pair of Viera.

About ten minutes into it, he stopped and let out a combination of "Kip-Kip...Keet!" Not a minute later, several Viera wood-warders hopped onto the tree branch, encompassing him in the middle. He looked around, but sadly, he didn't recognize any of them.

"How does a Garif know our calls?" the supposed leader of the group asked.

"I'm a friend of Jote, Mjrn, Ktjn, and Sytk's. I have been away for a long time, but have finally made it back to visit them," he answered without mistake of hesitation. The five women looked at one another, whispering so low that only Viera could hear. Apparently, they underestimated him, since he'd been tought by his wood-warding friends in the past on how to develope his hearing to what would be consider 'super', compared to the normal humes.

"_How does he know of our elder?"_

_"How do we know he isn't trying to deceive us?"_

_"We'll have to take his word. To make sure, we'll take him to the village."_

_"You'd have an outsider tread into our village?"_

_"If there are any consequences, I'll take the blame. No more complaints,"_ the leader said, ending the whispers. He decided to surprise them by speaking up.

"It's rude to talk about somebody," he said, surprising the Viera that their conversation did not fall on lame ears. "Sytk and Jote taught me well about how to calm my mind and listen to the land around me. If that isn't proof enough, than how about this?" He lifted up the necklace that Jote had given to him the day he left. They eyed it and realised that he had been telling the truth.

"Very well. Follow us," the woman said. The group began walking towards the western part of the Wood. The beasts they met along the way only gave them a glance before going about their own business. The treants along the path simply stood idle as the group passed by them to enter the village path.

Nematus couldn't help but get all giddy. He'd never been allowed into the village, but now, he had his own escorts. When they entered through the village entrance, all of the Viera immediately sensed his foreign presence. For a select few, it was a presence that seemed awfully familiar; too familiar to let go uninvestigated. Nematus gasped at the sudden shower of sunlight. All along the trees, there were walkways leading up their lengths and across to their neighbors. They crossed the bridge and rounded the first tree to enter the first courtyard, of sorts.

His presence attracted the attention of just about all of the residence in the vilage. There was already a small crowd, like back at the Jahara village, except this time, he was blushing furiously under his mask. 'Have they always been this revealing?' he asked himself. He managed to stop himself at 'they're beautiful bodies' before delving any deeper with his imagination. He mentally slapped his brain for the near slip-up.

He looked around the gathered faces, hoping to find someone who knew him. He didn't have to look long, as he was spotted by them first. "Is that who I think it is?" a familiar, strong voice asked above the crowd's whispers. Already knowing who it was, he looked over his shoulder and saw the taller Sytk looking down at him, though not as bad as two years ago.

Knowing the routine, he removed his mask to reveal his hume face. There were several gasps from the sudden reveal. The hunters who had brought him in were just as surprised. They had never seen a Garif before, only knowing that they wore large masks all the time. They were positive that they weren't just humes in masks that lived a low-tech lifestyle. Unastonishingly, they lifted the bows towards him. Imagine their confusion when Sytk ordered them to lower their weapons, and that this hume was a good friend of hers.

"His name is Nematus. He is a hume that was raised as a Garif, and was even tought some by me and Jote. He is different from the rest, I promise you," she explained. They looked at her increduously, thinking that perhaps she was joking with them. "Lower your weapons or I will do it for you," she declared. The rise in her tone had them lowering their bows faster than the eye could catch. One girl actually dropped hers.

Satisfied, she was about to look over at Nematus but found herself in a bone-crushing hug from the young adult. "It's been too long, Sytk. I've missed you all very much!" he said. She laughed softly and returned the gesture. His head was unintentionally forced into her bosom by the hug, given their height difference, but the joy of the reunion overpowered any urge of Nematus' growing mind to think dirty thoughts. His eyes were closed and a smile was plastered on his face as he enjoyed the touch of his old friend.

Their sentimental moment was interrupted by a call from another familiar voice, one that forced him to bring his head out and see Mjrn sprinting at him. His first thoughts were 'wow' as he looked over her running form. Her womanly parts had developed more over the long two years. She wore a yellow top that went down just level with her hips and hugged her body like a corsette. Over her arms, she had black seelves that went over her arms and stayed connected by a button that went over her collarbone. Her face was smooth and young, making it easy to tell that she was probably a teen among Viera. The shoulder length hair also made her look younger as well.

He hadn't released his hug from Sytk when Mjrn, now just shorter than him by an inch, barreled into him. The two species had now switched roles as Mjrn pressed firm against his body in a tight hug. "Nematus, it's so good to see you! How've you been? What kinds of places have you seen? Oh, you've got to tell us!" She finally slowed down and instead, opted to just rest her head against his chest. They both started blushing a little, but neither moved despite some playful accusations that were being made. "I'm glad you're okay," she said with a much more softer tone.

"It's great to see you too. You've grown shorter," he said, causing a few Viera to laugh and Mjrn to playfully shove him back.

"No, you've just gotten big!" she shot back. "You don't look like the little boy we first met anymore." Now that she finally looked him over, she saw that he really has grown. He put on some more muscle and about four or five inches. His body was also sprinkled with scars, mostly small while a few were noticeable. Still, none were as noticeable as the three scars he got on his head from a hellhound while training. The hair refused to grow there, so there were three bald lines running through his otherwise full head of hair for a couple of inches before they moved down over his left ear. Her blush darkened slightly as his amber eyes gave her the same kind of attention.

"Is that our little Nematus, the Garif hume who tried to be Viera?" a woman joked as she made her way through the crowd. It was none other than Jote, flanked by two other beautiful women as well. "You have grown much in two years, Child." He only rewarded her teasing with a smile.

"It's good to see you too, big Sister," he said. He only said that because he couldn't think of anything else to call her. She raised a brow at the title.

"Since when have I been your sister?" Much like she figured, he shrugged his shoulders with no real answer available. She came up to him and gave him a light hug. She was still about a couple of inches taller than him. 'Dang'it' he thought. "I will accept the offer, but..you've turned into a handsome young man. I might not like being your sister."

Several Viera were shocked to hear one of their elders say that, much worse, it was to a hume! She got the reaction she was wanting when she saw his face start changing to a dark red. "Wha-wha-what?" he stuttered. To the side, Mjrn's eyes were wide as she believed her sister was serious as well. Their astonishment was put to rest when she started laughing at his expense.

"I'm sorry...Big sisters often tease their younger brothers, do they not?" She saw everyone relax more. Normally, the elders were to uphold a sense of properness among the other Viera. It was a simple, but annoying, custom that Jote was often obligated to adhere to. But, she hadn't seen Nematus in over two years, so she decided to bend the rules abit.

"Come, we can all talk some more soon. We're about to have lunch. Have you eaten yet?" He shook his head. Just thinking about how he'd missed breakfast this morning and haven't had lunch caused a loud moan to escape his stomach. It caught the ears of just about every living creature in the forest as all attention was on him. The noise lasted for about ten seconds before finally subsiding.

"No.." he said sheepishly. "I missed breakfast this morning. I would love something to eat." Much to his embarrassment, most of the women there started giggling and whispering about him. "Not again with the whispering. I can hear most of you," he said, which only made them giggle more. 'ugh, man, why do women have to be so secretive and sometimes annoying. Mjrn took his hand and started dragging him across the courtyard to keep up with Jote and Sytk.

"Come on! You can sit by me and Jote tonight," she stated. For some reason, he felt like he didn't have a choice in the matter. He allowed his dignity to take a blow and let Mjrn lead the way to where their tree home was. Sytk came as well, since her tree home was just below Jote and Mjrn's.

"You've gotten many scars," Sytk brought up. "You've fought many monsters?"

Nematus nodded. "Yes. I could my first monster in a place very far away from here. We had to travel by an airship for twelve hours to reach a place called Balfonheim. It was a large town that sat by the ocean."

Mjrn's eyes lit up as she imagined what it must've looked like. "I had took plenty of time to try to comprehend all of these new sights and smells. The air itself was salty because of the sea and was always a soft breeze. The town was filled with the smell of laborers' sweat and fish cooking. The town consisted mainly of humes and bangaas whose life revolved around sailing the seas. Hah, it's funny. Everywhere I went, I got stares and questions about why I wore my mask. So many people asked me to show them my face, but I told them 'no'."

Sytk threw him a playful look. "So, we're the only ones who have ever seen your face? You must have a liking of Viera women." Nematus' feet suddenly stopped, but since he was being pulled, he fell forward onto his face. Mjrn was already trying to pull him up when the other two turned around to see what had happened.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Nematus," she apologized repeatedly.

"No, it's okay," he assured. "I just wasn't expecting Sytk to start messing with me as well." Mjrn shot her a mean frown, but the larger woman shrugged and acted innocent. "Well, truth is..there was one person I showed my face too." He now had all three of them's full attention. They were aware that he never took off his mask unless to show them, so what was so special about this person?

"Jote. Mjrn. On top of the airship I was riding on when I first went to Balfonheim...I met Fran."

All three of them looked at him like he'd done slapped their butts or something. Jote's face was set in stone. Sytk's looked deep in concentration. Mjrn...her look affected him the most. "You mean...our Fran?"

"Mjrn..Fran left the Wood. She is no longer our sister," Jote replied. Since it was just them four, with Sytk being a close friend of Jote, her voice sounded half-hearted at the least. Her face looked strained as she tried to fight emotions that anyone rarely saw. It hurt her too much to say that about Fran. She and Mjrn had been devastated when Fran up and left them all. They had feelings ranging from betrayal to anger and sadness.

"You say that..but you don't believe it," Mjrn responded. Nematus knew he was standing on top of a volcano of emotions that was ready to erupt.

"I'm sorry I brought it up," he said. It didn't seem to make the mood any less tense. "If it makes you feel better..she was very happy to hear that you all were okay. She has been wanting to know how you were doing, but knew that she couldn't go back after what she put you through. She told me herself."

If anything, the emotion within the air itself seemed to build up. Scared, knowing that he was in No Man's Land between a bunch of emotional women and their unreachable sister who was the cause of their distress, he immediately wanted to high-tail it out of there. But..he looked over a Mjrn to see her sniffling, and Sytk, whose rough exterior was replaced by a vulnerable woman, and finally Jote, who had her eyes shut tight and hands clenched into fists, he couldn't bring himself to do that.

He went over to Mjrn and was going to try to comfort her first, but she turned and burried her face into his chest and started softly sobbing. The sound of her crying broke his heart, bringing out the sensitive, protective side of him. "I'm sorry for upsetting you. Look what I've done. I've made you cry. I'm a fool, aren't I? he asked.

Instead of taking her frustration out on him like he thought, Mjrn gripped him tighter. He slightly hissed as her fingernails began digging into his back muscles. 'I should've worn my dragon mail.' But, the pain caused by her nails were nothing to how hot the tears on his chest burned. Sytk had yet to move, but Jote seemed to finally have evened out. She let out a shaky breath and walked up to him. Even with her sister crying on his chest, she pulled him into a brief and soft hug.

"Thank you," she said into his ears. She pulled back watched from the side as Nematus tried to comfort her youngest sister. It warmed her heart that he was being so kind to her...to them. She's sure he'd have done the same for the rest of them, but Mjrn just wouldn't let go. "Let's continue. Our home is right up this walkway," she gestured towards said walkway that led to a large tree about thirty yards away.

Mjrn gave a few sniffs before trying to dry up her tears. Nematus instinctively used his hands to wipe them away, much to her appreciation. "Thank you. I'm fine now." After making sure that Sytk was alright as well, much to her gratitude, Nematus followed Jote to her home. Once inside, they helped relieve him of his package. To his enjoyment, they all started smiling a little bit more when he told them that he had gifts for them.

To make it more fun, he told them to turn around because he wanted to surprise them. They rolled their eyes and complied. He took out the first gift and told Sytk to turn around. When she did, Nematus was holding out a beautifully crafted bow for her. "It's called a Perseus bow. There are only two other types of bows in the world that are better than it, I think. I knew in your hands, none would match it."

She took it gratefully and surprised him with a peck of her lips on his forehead. She giggled at his reddening face. The other two had turned around to see her gift and agreed that it was a lovely and finely-crafted bow. "Thank you, Nematus. I'll be sure to take excellent care of it."

"I believe you, Sytk. Alright, you two, stay turned around," he ordered. Jote wanted to chatise him for ordering a Vieran elder, but she wanted to be surprised by her gift even more. Next, he pulled out Jote's gifts. "Okay, turn around Jote."

When she did, she first saw him holding a small scroll or something. "This is the incantation for a powerful spell called Flare. It's very strong, I know. All you have to do is read it and your brain will memorize it. I'm sure you'll find a pretty good use for it."

She happily accepted the gift, but was met with yet another one. It was an outfit. It resembled Mjrn's yellow corsette, but this one was pink and came up a little in the middle to expose some of her stomach while it came further down on the sides and back like a short dress. It was customly made for Viera, but.."How did-"

"I found a Viera who was a tailor. She knew you about fifty years ago. She said she wouldn't expect you to have grown anymore, saying you were at the peak of your growth, so she knew your size. I asked her to make something special and this is the result two weeks later. I hope it's alright."

She smiled and told him to turn around. "Why?" he asked, not knowing what she meant.

"Unless you want to see her naked while she tries it on, than go ahead. But I won't be able to protect you," Sytk said. His body froze for a split-second before immediately turning around.

"Right, sorry. I didn't know what you meant," he explained. The three women laughed, finding his reactions to be cute and funny. After about a minute of trying it on, he was allowed to turn back around. Jote stood with his gift fit perfectly over her caramel-skinned body like it was made for only her.

"Wow," he said, not caring how it sounded. Jote grinned at the compliment. "It's looks perfect," he said, albeit a little to softly to sound friendly. Her cheeks actually gained a dust of red. She wasn't use to being complimented like that. The only compliments she ever received were on decision making or her promotion to elder, but never as anyone complimented her looks.

"Thank you very much, Nematus. I love it," she said, and approached him. He could feel his heart beating in his chest as she kissed his forehead.

'Again with the kisses.' Ever since that first one Fran gave him, he had always wanted to experience it again, if just to suppress his want of it. It was still a new thing to him, but at this rate, he'd be use to it by the end of the week, or it'd become an addiction.

The only one left was Mjrn, and boy, did she look excited. She was starting to get a little impatient, but that was understandable; like a child waiting for a christmas present. "Alright, you know the routine," he said. She huffed and turned around. Taking out the last gift, he told her to turn around.

She did so and was met with two different gifts. One, or two for the matter, were daggers. "They're zwill crossblades, some of the best out there. I know how you like to go exploring on your own, so I wanted to give you the weapons best fit for you," he explained. She gladly took the blades, but was a little disappointed that most of his gifts consisted of weapons. When she saw the other gift though, she didn't know what to think. It was a necklace laced with bones.

"I know it may not be your style exactly, but my mother gave this to me the day I left. For two years, I cherished this and Jote's necklace with all my heart. It was the best reminder I had of you all. I want you to have it." When he finished explaining, she was speechless.

"Why..why would you give me something so important to you?" she asked. He wanted to shrug, but that would imply that he really didn't know, but he did. He cared for her, like he did for the rest of his friends.

"Well, after I go again, I don't know how long I'll be gone. I might even die on a hunt. That's the reality that I live in now. It's just something for you to remember me by if you ever feel sad. Besides, I'm sure you'll be able to take better care of it than I can," he added. He stepped forward and offered to put it on for her. She leaned forward, bringing her head closer to his.

There was probably just a few inches between their faces. While his was focused on putting the necklace around her neck, hers was focused on his. She noticed how close their faces were and the thought was giving her small butterflies in her stomach, as well as a little burning feeling in her cheeks. She squirmed a little bit in her spot as the feeling was a little uncomfortable. "Just a little bit more...got it!" he finished.

Despite feeling a little discomfort, she didn't want him to scoot away. Jote and Sytk saw how she was acting when Nematus was so close. They knew that feeling. They'd both felt it before in their past. Viera women have four times the life-span as humes, so it takes them about thirty years to get to that stage in their life when they start experiencing feelings for the opposite sex.

Mjrn was forty-two years old, so she has long since known about the changes her body was going through as it matured into that of a woman's. If she were a hume, they figure she'd be about the same age as Nematus. They were absolutely sure he has been experiencing these feelings as well, though with his background, he probably had no real clue as to what was happening to him either.

Sytk and Jote looked at each other and smiled. Through their smiles, they were having their own conversation. "_I think they would make a cute pair,"_ Jote said.

Sytk made a small frown. "_But in a couple of years, he could be old enough for me." _Jote rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. She knew the larger woman was just joking.

_"He'd be scared of you. You could crush him like a twig. Besides, I wouldn't allow it,"_ she responded with a raised brow. Sytk gave a small huff.

"_Hmph..ruin my fun."_ The two's laughter was a mystery to Mjrn and Nematus. They were oblivious that they were the center of their conversation.

They spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on what the other's missed while eating some type of vegetable soup that had been setting on the fire in the home for a couple of hours. Nematus has told them all about his hunts, about his clan members, about the deaths of four of them just recently, than about how Cifer showed him the petition for the Catoblepas, which brought him to where he is now.

They shared with him their daily routines, mainly about the increase of intruders into the wood and how a few bands of criminals tried breaking through their barriers, but were put down immediately. Nematus didn't show any care about the trespassors' ill fates, being that he cared more for his Viera friends' well-beings.

When they had finished their soup, Nematus and Sytk both having like three helpings, being that he was just hungry and she was a large, muscled woman. Jote told them no more when Mjrn was seconds from convincing them into an eating contest. After collecting the dirty bowls, Nematus offered to clean them as thanks for the meal. Jote decided to have some fun and asked Mjrn to help him, unaffected by the pouting stare her friend was giving her. She was alright with it and went to show her friend where they wash their dishes at.

While helping him, the two talked some more, mainly to get to know each other better. Nematus wasn't expecting Mjrn to want to go see the outside world too. Fortunately, he was able to convince her to stay, reminding her of how emotional Jote and Sytk were when he mentioned Fran. He promised that he wouldn't let any of them cry anymore. To appease her some, he also promised that he'd come by more often and share with her tales of his travels. She made him pinky-promise, to which he happily accepted.

When they had finished, he noticed that the time has past faster than he expected since the sky was turning red, which meant the sun was setting. With some convincing on Mjrn's part, which wasn't that much, Jote allowed him to stay for the night, but he insisted on leaving. He didn't want to worry his family back on the Plains and would just use the teleport stone by the village entrance. That crystal is rarely used, save for some certain occassions. As far as he knew, only a few Viera have access to use it, so nobody save for Viera could teleport from anywhere outside into the village.

Jote relented and gave him a teleport crystal, as well as his mask. He thanked her for the hospitality she'd shown him and promised to not wait so long to come back to visit. She said she'd hold him to that. She and Sytk said goodbye from their homes while Mjrn escorted him to the stone.

"I'm really glad you kept your promise, Nematus," she said, breaking the silence that had been between them since they left. He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Of course I would, Mjrn. You all mean alot to me. You're my family here." She blushed a little and wanted to say something, but they were at the gate already. "Well, you take care of yourself, Mjrn. Remember our deal?"

She remembered. "Yeah, I do. But, before you go-" she wanted these butterflies to go away. She was also worried about him, since he was going to go fight a powerful monster tomorrow. He could probably die. If he did, then she wanted him to know that she liked him. "I just wanted to say..." He looked at her with some concern. She looked like she was straining from some sort of pressure or something.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I just wanted to say...that I really like you." There. She said it. Unfortunately, he misunderstood.

"Yeah, I really like you too, Mjrn. You've known that," he said. She wanted to just face-palm herself, but then she got a better idea.

"That's not what I meant, Stupid." She removed almost all the space between them and planted her lips against his. She held it there for about five long seconds before stepping backwards, a blush darkening her entire face. Over at Nematus, his heart had stopped when their lips first made contact and he found his eyes closing on their own. To say he was upset when she pulled away was probably the understatement of the year. He'd been longing for another kiss like the first one he had with Fran. His maturing body had caused him to obsess over it. Now that the Gods had given him another one, it only fueled his wanting.

He came out of his daze to see her looking just as embarrassed from her action. "Oh..you mean that 'like'," he muttered. She was more nervous than he thought though. Her heart was beating really fast from the crazy move she'd just pulled, but she was afraid that he wasn't going to return her feelings. Nematus was pushing his brain to the limit to figure out the proper response.

'Okay, she's probably wanting to see if I like her. What do I say? Do I like her like that?' He thought back to their old times together: how she'd help Jote teach him about the Viera and the Wood, improving his speed and endurance by playing tag with her (she was faster than her innocent, helpless damsel personality let on), and just hanging out with him whenever he came through after training. Then he thought back to today: the way his heart fluttered at the sight of her, how she found comfort in his embrace and how he wanted to protect her, as well as his promise to never make her cry again. It came to him so easily after that.

"I really like you too, Mjrn," he finally said. He closed the distance between them as her head had popped up at his declaration. He brought her into a soft hug that was meant more for comfort than hugging. Nematus held her small frame like the most fragile piece of jewelry in existance as she rested her face into the crook of his neck. Facing down, he planted a kiss onto her forehead, ignoring the bunch of white hair that got in his mouth or tickled his nose. She hugged him even tighter and he reciprocated the gesture. After standing there for several minutes, alone in each other's embrace, they finally parted with one more kiss.

Having nothing more to say, he brought his teleport crystal up to the stone and flashed out of her sight. She thought she was going to be sad when he left, but instead, she found that she hasn't been this happy since before Fran left. She clutched onto the necklace he gave her and walked back to her tree home, replaying that last kiss in her head over and over again.

When he arrived outside of the village, he made sure to let the others know he was home. As he was walking, he noticed just how much time had actually went by. He could see the sun about two thumbs' width over the horizon, so he had about two more hours of sunlight left. He'd spent five hours with the Viera, though it felt like a fifth of that. He found his mother and father eating supper. He was still full from his vegetable soup earlier, so he decided to head off to bed. They had already fixed his old mat up, so he plopped down and shut his eyes. Not even ten seconds later was he passed out.

* * *

><p>The next morning, several of the Garif had gotten up early to wish Supinelu, Nematus, and Cifer goodhunting. Johan and his mother hugged their family and saw them off. The mood along the way was pretty quiet, save for some of the tips Supinelu was giving Cifer about the monsters there. The man was all ears as they reached the caverns and began their descent into the underground monster capital of the world.<p>

Immediately, they came under attack by giant toads known as 'speartongues', and blobs of slime called 'slime.' They were disposed of rather easily, though one managed to scratch Nematus' dragon mail. A scratch was all it was, though. As they ventured deeper, they came upon other monsters: Gorgimeras, mallicants, and scythe mantises. All opposed the trio, but all fell at their blades. If Supinelu had reached the Catoblepas by himself, then it was common sense that the three of them together would prove too strong for all of the lesser monsters of this cavern.

As they fought their way deeper, they maneuvered through sand drifts to come into an area that was on the other side of a cavern room that they already went through. Being as quiet as they could, they found the large, green behemoth tromping along the path that ran alongside the wall.

Cifer and Nematus immediately began buffing the party with protect, haste, and bravery, the latter contributed by Cifer himself. As promised, he stayed back as the two Garifs marched forward. They both gave out their own war cries, gaining its attention. It roared back as well, and charged.

Nematus has been waiting for this. This monster has caused his family and tribe so much grief. It would die. His blade will end its life today! With adrenaline and rage fueling his body, he jumped over the swing of the Catoblepas' massive sword and swung his Ragnarok at its chest. The blade traveled along the length of its chest, digging through the muscle about six inches deep. It bellowed in pain and anger and smashed the ground in response, sending a massive shockwave through the cave system. The move knocked everyone off their feet.

Trying to capitalize on its advantage, the behemoth lifted its tail over Nematus and attempted to flatten him with it. Luckily, the blow only upsetted his balance. He saw the attack coming and rolled out of the way. The Catoblepas tried to crush him again, but Nematus lifted his sword as the tail came down. A massive roar shook the cave walls as the blade went through its tail all the way to the hilt. The boy tried to pull it back out, but it swung its tail around, ripping the handle from his grip.

"Crap! Father, I've got to get my sword!" The War-Chief nodded. He ran up to the beast, despite its rampaging swings.

**"Ice Break!**" He punched the ground and a spike of ice shot up from the sands, piercing the inside of the monster's left leg. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to force it to a knee to try to free itself. Taking the opportunity, he grabbed hold of its tail to steady it. "Now, Son!"

Nematus didn't hesitate to grab hold of the handle of his Ragnarok and rip it clean from the tail. The removal of the blade only caused the beast further pain. Feeling that he was about halfway through with his bravery buff, Nematus jumped upwards and stabbed the Catoblepas in the shoulder and down into its chest. With a monstrous jerk, he ripped the sword out of the back, delighting in the sound of several ribs breaking.

As it clawed viciously at nothing, hoping to somehow grab hold of the pain and kill, it didn't notice Supinelu rushing forth. He reared his right fist back and brought it slamming into the mid-section. He followed it up with a left, than a right, than another left. He started wailing on the beast's abdominals, each fist making a shockwave against its body and an echoing sound through the air.

Finally noticing the pain from the blows, the giant swung its fist sideways, backhanding Nematus' father clear across the path. He stopped a couple of yards later after something tried to catch him. He looked back to see Cifer with a concerned look, but the War-Chief waved him off. He looked back at the fight to witness the beast, having picked up his sword, swing downwards at his son. Amazing, Nematus was able to stave off the deathblow with his sword one-handedly. He spun underneath the blade, letting it fall to the ground, and spun upwards with the swing, cutting clean through about a foot of the Catoblepas' midsection.

Blood soaked the ground, but the monster showed no sign of weakening. 'Incredible,' Supinelu thought. 'This is the most damaged we've ever done to it, yet it still fights like a demon possessed.' Fearing for his son more now, Supinelu got back to his feet and charged back into the fray. This time, he took with him the Save The Queen that he had laid aside till it was needed. He ran behind the green giant and slashed across the back of its right knee, bringing it to its knees again.

With a powerful swipe of its tail, the chief was knocked back again, but not nearly as far. Nematus took the opening his father made him and performed an upper-cut slash. Seconds later, a red line pussed from the beast, going from its sternum to its jaw, but avoiding its throat. Blood spurted out like a fountain, but still the damn thing got back up. Taking the boy by surprise that it could even live through a wound like that, it swung its blade from left to right. He brought his blade up to block it, but the force sent him flying into the rock wall. With the air knocked out of him, he fell to his knees wheezing horribly.

The Catoblepas approached, drenched in blood like some kind of hellish demon, its red eyes glowing like a fire in the night. As it raised its blade up, Nematus tried but couln't bring himself to roll out of the way. This was it.

Before the blade could even come down, Supinelu jumped onto the Catoblepas' back at the last second, roaring like a maniac. He pulled back on one of its large, black horns that lined up from its back to the back of the head, forcing it to look up at the Garif War-Chief. Roaring, he held its head back with one hand while pounding away on its face with the other. Blow after blow came crashing down with tremendous, adrenaline-filled, bravery-buffed, pissed off, protective father, vengeance seeking malice.

The beast went berserk as it tried to get its new threat off of its face. It dropped its blade and tried to pull the Garif off, but the man's single-handed grip was like iron and he held fast. Nematus watched in awe as his father displayed super-human strength and bravery so crazy, it could be called insanity. He found it inspiring, as well as revitalizing. With a roar, he climbed back to his feet. "Father, I need a bravery and a berserk!"

The monster ran towards the wall, opting to just smash the little man instead. At the last moment, Supinelu jumped off, causing the Catoblepas to smash its face into the rock wall. It gave another yell as it covered its face with its hands, hoping to somehow ease to pain. Supinelu wasted no time in casting bravery on his son, quickly followed by berserk. The now rebuffed, enraged Nematus stood with his Ragnarok gripped with both hands.

He charged the behemoth who was too busy caring for its face to notice to imminent danger. With a vicious slash across its chest, Nematus severely injured the monster. Not satisfied with its screams, he swung again, and again, and again. Blow after blow made new, larger wounds on the monster's body. Seeing something better, Nematus dropped his greatsword and picked up the behemoth's massive sword with but a single hand. The blade itself was bigger then his entire body.

"**NOW** **DIE!"** he yelled.

He spun around and swung across the Catoblepas' midsection, completely bisecting it. With a low cry, its upper half fell forward with a massive thud. With a triumphant roar, he raised the beast's large blade into the air. His father and Cifer both made their way to him, but for some reason started running. Before he even turned around, he saw the shadow of the upper half of Catoblepas raised on a single arm while the other was held mid-air, ready to attack. With an even hotter rage inside him, he spun around and sliced the monster's head and raised arm clean off.

The limbs and head dropped to the ground, no longer alive. Now that the spells wore off and the adrenaline stopped flowing, he felt dizzy. He had no idea that when he had been smashed into the wall, a piece of broken rock was protruding from it. Upon impact, it had broken several of his ribs and caused much internal bleeding. He was bleeding to death in his own body, yet he had continued fighting to eventually kill the Catoblepas. Feeling the effects now, he fell to his knees. The last thing he felt was his face hitting the sandy floor before he blacked out.

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><p><strong>AN: That's the fourth chapter. I hope everyone liked it. How's that for charater development, Sweety Death? :P I know someone's gonna think Jote, Sytk, and Mjrn were probably OOC, but I say they weren't. Nematus isn't some random hume to them, he's their friend. A friendship that took 1.5yrs to make, so :P Anyway, why did I let Mjrn and Nematus kiss? I don't know, I guess I kinda felt bad for her. I mean, in the game, she's in there only like twice and not much else is known except what you can find in the wiki. Besides, I think they make a nice pair.**

**Anyway, please tell me your thoughts. We will pick up right where we left off next chapter, so expect an update by Friday or sooner.**


	5. Destiny with a God

**A/N: Here's the fifth chapter. In case some don't know, this is in an alternate reality, though the same one as Clan Infamous and all the other stories that relate to his. There may be another emotional scene or two, but hey, it just comes to me. You know what, I'm surprised that I've made this story this long. I know I said about five or six chapters, but I wasn't expecting on writing chapters ranging from 6K to 10K words. I'd like to thank Sweety Death for that. :P But, like all stories, except the Never Ending Story, this one will come to an end soon. This chapter will be the last time there's a time skip. This will also be the longest chapter. **

**Also, I read back over my last chapter and was disgusted with how many grammar and spelling errors there were. I just couldn't believe it. I'll make this one better, promise! **

**Now on with the story!**

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><p><strong>Destiny with a God<strong>

_Unknown amount of time later, Nematus' pwr lvl: 74 _

He woke up to complete darkness.

Pain.

Pain was all he could feel.

'Why? Why does this feel so familiar?'

It was like some kind of deja vu. His conscience had awoken, but he still couldn't pry open his eyes yet. Suddenly, something cold brushed against his forehead. Whatever it was, it felt nice. Then something touched his back. It felt like really big hands, but they were really gentle and soft. Then he heard some voices.

Female voices.

There were a couple of women speaking softly. Their voices sounded so sweet, like two angels singing.

_"His wounds were grave. He's blessed to be alive."_

_"Yes. Most would have bled to death. But they said that even with this wound, he killed a great beast. Do you believe this to be true?"_

_"I'm surprised he's still breathing, but I doubt he'd been able to fight, or even stand up. Several ribs were broken and his heart was punctured by one of them. He should be dead."_

_"Well, he is special. The ritual we used has only ever been tried on Viera. The Wood finds him worthy of her gift. He would have died without her help."_

_"He will not be the same. You know that, right?"_

_"Of course, but what part of him will change?"_

'Hey...what are you both talking about?' he asked, though he didn't know it was only in his head. 'Why is it so dark? Somebody answer me, please! What's going to change about me?' Unaware of his wishes, they continued to make idle chat.

_"This is the one that visited us the other day, no?"_

_"Yes. He's the hume who is friends with Jote and her sister, as well as our wood-warder captain. They speak well of him. Especially Mjrn."_

_"She has not left from her spot outside, except for food, or if Jote or Sytk force her. She's shed many tears."_

_"Do you think...she sees him more than a friend?"_

'Hellooooo? I can hear you! Why won't any of you answer me?' Again, they did not hede his questions. 'Why can't they hear me? Wait...am I dead? Is this what being dead is like? But no, I can feel their hands on me, and they said I would have bled to death. I felt that cold thing against my head. Dead people shouldn't feel things when they're dead!'

The soft touch of their hands disappeared from his senses as they finished checking his wound.

_"I'm not sure, but it seems that way. What would Jote think?"_

_"I'm not sure, either. She has been more lenient and relaxed since this boy visited. I like her this way."_

_"Yes. She must maintain appearances as Elder, but this boy somehow changed her attitude. She's even been by to check on him three times a day since that Garif and hume man brought him. She cares for him much as well."_

_"As a friend would."_

_"Let's turn him onto his back now. It will be easier for him to recover that way."_

He had given up trying to speak to them. Deaf Viera; that's the greatest contradiction in the history of the world. He relaxed a little more as their warm hands easily and slowly turned him over. For more comfort, they placed a soft pillow, or the Vieran equivalent to it, under his head. It wasn't that great, but it was alot better then his head lying flat on the floor, atleast.

"_Let Mjrn know that she may enter, but to be careful towards him." _

The faint sounds of footsteps reached his ears as the healer got up from her knees and moved towards the door. There were some whispers that he couldn't hear, but he soon felt a familiar presence. He didn't know how he felt it, but somehow he knew Mjrn was kneeling right beside him, looking over his body. The only movement he made was the slow rise and fall of his chest.

Over in her point of view, Mjrn was happy to see no visible wounds, though she knew the majority of the damage was internal. There still should've been blood spots and large bruises, that much she knew. Apparently, whatever Jote had told them to do had worked better than she hoped. The two Viera women gave them some privacy and exited the cove, but stayed outside in case they were needed.

Mjrn wanted to just hug the crap out of him, thankful that he was alive. She had been in tears when his father and friend brought his dying body to them. They were unable to heal the kind of wound he had. It took Sytk to hold her back and Jote to make her see reason. Thinking it over had her dripping tears again.

"Nematus," she choked. "You promised that you wouldn't make me cry anymore. You broke it, you hard-headed jerk." Some of her tears fell onto his face while she was slouched over. Nematus had quietly listened to what she had said. Feeling her hot tears again was unbearable and he soon started crying too, though without the sobbing half. But this time, the tears really came. Mjrn didn't notice the small stream of liquid snaking its way down his cheek as she rested her head on his chest.

Slowly, his eyelids crept upwards, exposing his sensitive amberish-gold eyes to the little bit of light that entered his room. He squinted to let them slowly adjust to the sudden brightness. Feeling something soft, he looked down and saw a distraught Mjrn softly crying on his chest with her arms hiding her face. Nematus smiled weakly and tried to lift his hand up. It took some effort, but when he finally got his hand high enough, he let it drop slowly on her head.

She looked over to see his smiling face and immediately hugged him around his chest. "Nematus! You're okay, you're okay, you're okay!" Without warning she kissed him on the cheek, making him blush some more.

"If I could wake up to that every morning, then I ought to get myself hurt more often," he joked. She didn't find it funny, as he noticed from her frown. She started shedding even more tears, much to his horror. "I'm sorry. I made you cry again. I'm truly stupid if I would do that to you twice," he said with much self-loathe.

She looked him in the eye and he couldn't tell if they were red because it was their natural color, or from all the crying she's done. "I forgive you. It's my fault for being so emotional. You said that your reality was that you could die at anytime. I didn't take you seriously enough. I'm sorry."

He could feel the emotion of her words like they had physically forms as he looked into her teary eyes. Somehow finding his strength, he sat up. The action caused her upperbody to fall into his lap, but he caught her with his arms. She looked shocked and worried that he was moving, but that calm smile of his was telling her the opposite of what the healers said. He shouldn't be able to move now, but he sat up without any trouble.

"Just..don't cry anymore, Mjrn," he softly spoke. Through her mixed emotions, she gave him a smile. "You know, you're really cute when you smile." She blushed with some embarrassment from the remark. "And when your face turns red like that," he added.

He bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips. She was caught off guard by the advance, but she couldn't bring herself to stop it and quickly gave in to it. She wrapped her arms around his head for support while she pressed her mouth against his more firmly, an action that he gladly accepted.

Nematus was in heaven. Her small lips, so soft, tasted like pure honey, and smelt of something rather intoxicating, but he'll ask her about that later. Right now, he just wanted things to stay like this forever. Him, her, and no one else to bother them, not that either would have noticed at that moment. Their kiss lasted about thirty seconds before they broke apart, both chests rising and falling rapidly to show their owners'nervousness. For some reason, that smell was getting stronger to him, it felt like.

She kissed him again, then hugged him tightly. "I promise I won't cry again, if you promise not to die when you're fighting." He didn't hesitate a second to answer as he ran his hand through her smooth hair.

"I promise." Her body seemed to have melted against his as she relaxed once more. She rested her head like she did before, cradled against his neck, while his arms were wrapped around her waist. She felt safe like this, and she knew he would keep his promise. "By the way," he started, a question gripping his mind, "how long have I been out?"

"You were out for almost two weeks," she said. He couldn't help but react the way he did, and she regretted telling him since it would ruin their moment.

"WHAAAAAT?" His yelled, startling the beejeebies out of her. She was forced to scoot away not only from the outburst, but because he'd yelled right in her bunny-like ears. The healers who were waiting outside rushed in to see their miracle patient standing on his own power.

They immediately calmed him down after answering his question about being out for two weeks. Yes, after some kind of special treatment that's only known to the Golmore Viera, they saved his life by completely healing his wounds. They have looked after him for almost two whole weeks after that. They also didn't fail to mention that even after so long a wait, he shouldn't be able to move around yet.

He calmed down, but refused to go back to sleep. "I've done two-weeks' worth," he said. Mjrn had said nothing the entire time. Her eyes were unusually large and she hadn't stopped staring at him. "What's wrong, Mjrn?"

One of the healers was trying to stifle a laugh while the other one was looking at him kinda weird. He looked down and felt the color leave his body.

"WHY AM I NAKED!"

He moved so fast to cover his body with the thin blanket that had been laid on him that they were impressed that he could move like that for a hume. He'd been just a blur of white movement. With the blanket now wrapped around his waist like a towel, his body regained some of its color.

"It would have gotten in the way while we checked your body for other wounds, and to check on your more obvious ones," the Viera, that had been trying not to laugh, explained.

"Whatever," he grumbled. Though he looked mad, he was embarrassed as hell. The thought of Viera checking his naked body was both appealing and terrifying, as in 'breach-in-privacy' terrifying. What? Every guy's got to have some kind of personal privacy.

"It's okay," she said. "I don't see why you're reacting like this. You weren't wearing much to begin with."

After the tension in the air subsided, they coaxed Nematus into lying down again. He didn't go to sleep, though. Mjrn still hadn't said a word, not knowing what exactly she had seen, but thinking it was the equivalent to if a stranger saw her parts naked. It wasn't hard to guess why there was a shade of dark red covering her already dark skin. One of the healers went to fetch Jote and Sytk per their request upon his awakening, while the other one went to get him something to eat.

There was complete silence between the two love birds for the rest of the time they were alone; none knowing how to talk after that ackward moment. The silence finally broke after five minutes of waiting when Jote and Sytk both walked in, happy to see their young friend awake and well.

The rest of the time went by fast after that. Jote tried to explain just what they did to save him, something about the Seed of the Wood and being strong enough or something. The whole process was just too big for him to wrap his mind around, but he did catch the part about some changes that could occur, though what would change was still unknown. He'll find out later, and has unknowingly already experienced two of them.

Sytk had stayed to the side to let Jote explain the process, though she kept staring at Nematus. Something about him just seemed different and it had her brain in a funk. Mjrn felt more comfortable with the presence of her older sister now, but the strange feelings she had felt when she saw Nematus naked still lingered. After they talked for about ten minutes, while he finally got to eat something, they left him in peace, though he didn't want to stay in the bed. They, however, promised to let him walk around tomorrow if he behaved.

When he agreed, Sytk couldn't help but retort, "He's a man, naked in a village of Viera. I bet he won't last till sunset." She gave him a wink only to make him blush more, much to his and Mjrn's frustration, the latter only telling her to stop being mean to him. Jote felt that was a conversation best to keep out of.

Much to his chagrin, he fell back into slumber minutes after closing his eyes. Inside of his body, millions of microscopic changes were taking place almost so fast, they can hardly be said to have happened at all. The main areas were his lungs, nose, eyes, and feet. Cells and tissues began breaking down and restructuring as an ominous green glow began marking the ones that had changed with tiny dots.

When he awoke the next morning, he felt completely fine. There wasn't any problem with trying to open his eyes, which pleased him. The sun was just rising as the peaks of the canopy cought the first rays of sunlight of the day. He heard many footsteps and talks outside of his room, so he decided to finally escape his bed. Sometime during the night, or morning, someone had dropped off the few clothes he had. His mask laid right beside them, but since he was here, he wouldn't mind not wearing it for a bit.

Stepping into the sunny, humid air outside, he looked around and saw many vieras divided into groups of fours and fives. 'The patrols for the day.' Leading them was their captain, Sytk. Of course, his arrival got their brief attention. Sytk finished organizing the parties and gave the directions to each of the squad leaders and dismissed them. Nematus politely greeted them as they passed by, some giving him looks, a few greeting him back, and others not even looking his way.

The last one was Sytk. The beautiful captain walked with much grace and peace despite her size. When she came up close, she petted him on the head since he wasn't wearing his mask. "Nice to see you are well, Nematus. You sleep more than the dead."

He shared a laugh with her, knowing that she was probably telling the truth. "Good morning to you too, Sytk. I was just sick of having to lie all day. I'm so use to doing something to keep me occupied."

She understood completely. She had always been an active child and young woman, and it grew while she did her wood-warder training. It was her delight in physically challenging herself and others that got her to the position she was at now. She knew Nematus was raised by mother and father to be the man he was today; trained in fighting and magicks and history and values. It may have seemed like slavery, but he enjoyed it, and that was something the two had in common, and that she liked about him.

"Well, if you are so tired of being lazy, than come with me on a patrol. Though I'm able to go on my own, it would be safer with a partner." He had waited for a few moments, expecting some kind of flirtatious comment or punch-line, but she looked like she was the one waiting.

"Alright. No problem," he said. Her smile seemed to shine brighter for some reason, something he thought suited her well. "Can I eat first? It's not like there's an invading army just outside the Wood."

"Of course."

Well, he got something to eat and the duo was starting to make their way out when he suddenly forgot the most important item when patroling a jungle full of monsters. "Wait, my sword! I don't have my Ragnarok with me."

"It's in my home," she replied. "Jote asked me to hold on to your gear while you were recovering." He thanked her and rushed back to her home. Sitting by the entrance, just like she said, was his Ragnarok. He strapped on his sheath over his back and hefted his greatsword with no effort. Securing his blade, he rushed back out.

He saw his friend waiting patiently by the village exit. Together, the unusual duo of a half naked hume and a half naked, half armored Viera captain took off into the jungle. They spent most of the time conversating softly while listening to the Wood. Amazingly, he could hear faint whispers, but it was nowhere near as well as a Viera's ability. He also seemed to know what was where as well, though that skill still trailed poorly behind Sytk's seasoned senses.

She found it interesting that he had these enhanced abilities and believed it to be the doing of the Seed of the Wood. He didn't bother asking about how, he was just happy that something good came out of two weeks of doing nothing except growing roots to the ground. She decided to put his senses to the test with various challenges as they patrolled, such as hearing what she heard, or smelling a cerberus pack down below. But his biggest difference was his eyesight. It was about five times better than before, he estimated.

He could clearly make out the old footprints that some animals left behind 400yds away! Better yet, whenever he could, he would spot out to Sytk the other Viera patrols traversing the higher branches and lower branches. Sytk considered this a true blessing, and a gift that he should try to hone whenever he could. It would be wasteful if he didn't do anything with it.

Throughout the rest of the day, he found out a few other things about himself. He could jump about four times higher than normal with half the effort, and his running speed seemed faster while his steps felt lighter. 'This has to be the changes that Jote was talking about!'

When they finished their patrol for the day, they both were sweating from the humidity and running. Thankfully, they didn't have any problems with some of the travelers. All were just passing by to get from place to place, though their numbers were few. Deciding to have some fun, they began a foot race back to the village. The two warriors took off with blurring speeds. Nematus was surprised that he was able to stay on her tail, sometimes even taking the lead. But then Sytk's afterburners started kicking in and her feet became nearly invisible as they moved with unbelievable speed, like the pistons in a nascar engine.

Steadily, she took the lead; then she started putting some distance between them. Nematus moved his legs as fast as he could, but the Viera woman's legs had a longer stride and moved twice the speed of his. The distance between them was tripled in just seconds as she pushed further and further ahead of him.

'By the GODS! This woman is a machine!' He soon lost sight of her, but a minute later, he came bursting onto the walkway that lead to the village. There, catching her wind with deep, slow breaths, was the winner. She saw him panting heavily while making his way to her, and gave him a grin. He stopped and twisted his body left and right to stretch some of his back muscles. She eyed his body's muscles, unaware of just how intently she was doing it, stretch and tighten from the twists as the coat of sweat made them shine in the sunlight that fell through the canopy.

Her stare was only interrupted by the sound of Jote. "Well, it seems you have recovered more than enough, Nematus. Though may I ask what possessed you to challenge Sytk to a race? You'd have to be on an airship to beat her," she claimed. Still breathing hard, he gave a 'You think?' look as he tried to catch his breath.

"It was not as hopeless as it seemed, Jote," Sytk spoke up in his defense. "The changes that we expected have revealed themselves today. His sight, smell, and hearing has improved tremendously, as well as his speed and jumping. He was able to meet the standards required to be a wood-warder pupil, except hearing the Wood. He says he hears only faint whispers. Also, his sight has improved times ten. He can easily spot our own warders in the distance."

Jote raised a brow at all these claims. Coming from Sytk, she knew they weren't exaggerated, as she was the finest warder this village's had in the past three generations. She wasn't very surprised though, even about him hearing some of the Wood. Throughout the rest of the evening, Nematus bathed, ate, tried to get to know the rest of the village, than slept in that order.

He stayed in the village for a few more days, finally growing on some people and also honing his new skills the best he could given the alotted time frame. Jote taught him how to train his ears to better hear the Wood, but little progress was made. Perhaps it had to do with him being a hume. Sytk always accepted his challenge for a race, yet she hasn't been defeated yet. He also spent some time with Mjrn, helping out the wood-warders and salve-makers with little, everyday things.

The ackward feeling between the two after that one moment had disappeared, so they were joking around and talking like usual. There were even a few whispers jokingly calling them a couple. The gossipers assumed the blush on their faces were from embarrassment rather then the rumors actually being true, to some extent.

After the fourth day from having recovered, Nematus told Jote that he should be heading back to the Plains soon. She agreed, knowing that his family and friends were probably worried sick about him. He said his good-byes to everyone, while Sytk asked him his age. When he said 16, she whispered in his ear during their hug to come give her a visit in two years. Jote heard it and scoffed at the Viera's horrible sense of humor. Nematus, though, had yet to understand what she meant. He and Mjrn hugged it out, though, since they weren't alone and were sorta afraid of what Jote would think, they didn't kiss.

He doned his mask and disappeared via the teleport stone. His reunion with the Jahara village was grand, by Garif standards. Everyone had quickly gotten word of his arrival, so it was no wonder why Tanyar and Supinelu knocking people down like bowling pins to get to him. The lucky few who noticed the danger made it out unscathed. Right along with them was Cifer, along with the rest of the 13 Swords Clan.

The man had went back to Rabanastre for a little bit, but had brought back the rest of the clan. They all had been worried about him after having been told of the battle with the Catoblepas. Nematus soon found himself surrounded by the people he's come to call family. With him now well, the clan decided to finally celebrate the killing of the Catoblepas. To the mark hunters, that meant alcohol and food for everybody of drinking age. Though the Great Elder had to put a limit on the huge amount that the mixture of humes and bangaas somehow miraculously produced. An entire village drunk was begging for trouble.

The next day, along with the reward money that came with killing the beast, Supinelu also gave Nematus several Volcano grenades, the strongest hand-held bombs out there. If Nematus used them up, he could just come back to get some more. Thinking ahead, they decided to just put an order out for a box of them. With business that needed to be taken care of, such as financial bills that were piling up from the lack of hunting, Nematus was forced to say good-bye to everyone again. With the teleport stone, they all disappeared.

_two years later; Nematus' pwr lvl: 79, age: 18 _

Nematus, now 18yrs old, considered a full-fleged adult, though most would agree that he'd achieved that title years before. He's grown abit as well. He's was a very strong man, about 6'3, weighting at around 200lbs. That was above average for most humes, being about one out of a couple hundred.

Their clan was second in Rabanastre only to Montblanc's Clan Centerion. They've grown into an S ranked clan, meaning that they were an elite group of monster hunters that little could stand against. Cifer, Nematus, and one other, Maximillion, were S ranked hunters, while there were four A ranked, three B ranked, and three C ranked hunters comprising of the rest of the clan.

Their skills and accomplishments were becoming stuff of great tale lately. They'd just returned from the Cerobi Steppe again. Some moogles were planning on doing some refurbrishing to the windmills there but there was a Vyraal making things hard. Though it fled before being killed, they got a dragon's scale from it. Nematus had decided to keep it as a little suvenior.

Little did he know that he'd end up trading it to some moogle in Balfonheim Port for an old key. The furry creature said that he's a philosopher and has always wanted a dragon's scale for some reason, and that he'd trade this key for it. When asked about its purpose, the moogle told them that there was a hidden door in the Sochen Cave Palace that held great treasures (**A/N: This being a misinterpretation on the moogle's part.**). Taking the fellow's word for it, he traded it off. He told the story to Cifer, but the man was convinced that he'd just been douped.

Keeping a promise, Nematus returned to the Ozmone Plains. He'd been delighted to see Johan growing up so big now, as well as his parents. They had a nice reunion and caught up with each other, telling them stories that the other's missed. When the next day came, he teleported to the Eruyt Village. He removed his mask and made himself known to one of the sentries. She knew of him, so she had no problem with letting him in.

As if they'd smelled him right when he walked in, two of his most favorite people in the world greeted him. Jote looked as beautiful as ever, and Mjrn also started to look more womanly, though it wouldn't take an expert to see that she was still young for her kind.

Like he said he would, he told Mjrn all about his hunts and travels. Jote enjoyed hearing them as well, though she knew she had no place in his world and would not dare leave the Wood. He told them about how a hunter's clan was ranked, as well as each individual, so when he told them that he was an S ranked hunter, they congratulated him. Another voice congratulated him as well.

Sytk came up behind him, dragging her long fingers up his back. He instinctively jerked forward from the feel that was both arousing and creepy in every sense of the words. As the day went on, he somehow survived the still taller woman's teasing, though Sytk would always say she wasn't teasing. Jote facepalmed herself and Mjrn looked ready to pounce on the larger woman every time she made a suggestive comment or joke.

Being in the Wood again, he felt that same sense of complete peace as he had two years ago. The voices that were small whispers before seemed to be a little louder when he listened now. Perhaps it had something to do with his body being almost completely matured, though men's bodies didn't stop growing till they're like twenty-five, so maybe it will become better over time. He stayed the whole day there, Jote allowing him to sleep in their home. She completely tuned out Sytk who was being a hopeless flirt. It was for Nematus' well-being.

While Nematus wasn't bothered as much by it, his hormones having leveled out over the years, Mjrn was pretty hesitant. She really liked him and all, but the room-sharing still gave her mixed feelings. Jote told her a couple of months ago that her body should be fully matured within the next two years, and if she wanted to pursue a relationship with Nematus, then she'd allow it. When told that, Mjrn felt both happiness and mortification, the latter being that her sister knew of her deep crush on her friend. So imagine how she felt with her crush lying barely clothed a few feet from her. One'd imagine she'd be pretty nervous.

Well, the night went without trouble or surprises and the next day soon came. Nematus had thanked them for allowing him to stay and left, but not before Mjrn caught up with him, pulled him down, and crushed her lips to his. His moment of surprised was gone as fast as it came. He hadn't kissed her in two years, or anyone else for that matter. This kiss was alot different though. Whereas the other ones were just lips, this one was lips for a couple of seconds before her mouth parted his and she gave him his very first open-mouthed kiss. He had no experience in the matter, so he just followed her lead.

It lasted for a full minute, which seemed like an eternity for anyone who would've seen it, but for the two of them, it ended too fast. He had half a mind to just throw her over his shoulder and run off with her, but then he'd have to somehow outrun Sytk, and that was impossible. When they broke apart, they held each other tight enough to break one's back, but neither noticed the pain. He wanted to hold her forever and she didn't want him to go again. She hated when he was away, because she couldn't help but think about him everyday, and the fact that he wasn't there made her lonesome.

"I promise I'll come back," he said.

"I know you will," she whispered back. They kissed and he soon left once again to return to his clan. He reunited with the clan back at Rabanastre.

_2 years later, one year before Imperial take over of Nalbina Fortress for you canon natzis; Nematus' pwr lvl: 87; age: 20 _

The clan had been hired by the Archadians the other day to clear out the Sochen Cave Palace all because they had some troops that were going to be doing some kind of secretive training or whatever. It didn't matter to them; they were getting paid a hefty sum. If this job went well, then they'd be financially set for four years, vacations included. Everyone in the clan could brave the underground, zombie-infested palace on their own pretty well, so it was suppose to be the easiest job in the world.

There was also something else the Imperials wanted the 13 Swords Clan to do. Apparently, there are rumors that a loud roar can sometimes be heard from the citizens of lowtown. They say that it resembles a wyrm's roar from the description and some witnesses' accounts. a single wyrm, nothing to it, right? Nematus could handle the wyrms on the Cerobi Steppe without a single buff, so what would the problem be?

With some discussion and a vote, they unanimously decided that they'd accept the job. Nematus felt pretty confident. Not only has his strength increased drastically over the years, but his sorcery skills are at their peak. He's learn several level 4 elemental spells, including Darkja and Holyja, as well as other spells, such as Ardor, Scathe, Berserk, and Reverse. He's also learned a quickening, Black Devourer. His mist generates a pair of massive, 20m tall monsters made of black energy that chase and attempt to devour his enemy. It comes in handy when faced against numerous or very large beasts. Cifer has also taught him aerial recovery, even though he can jump well up to 60yds in one leap. It was tricky at first, but the key was to focus your mist into your feet, than jump again right when you've started to fall.

Well, the group had taken an airship to Archades and met up with the petitioner, the captain of the troops doing the training. He was a judge, standing at about 6'5 with a massive axe strapped on his back. Apparently, he'd heard of Cifer and Nematus, and had requested to his superiors to hire them to clean out the palace. He informed of what they knew of the wyrm, since that was the only unknown factor. All he had heard was noise and rumors of a large wyrm, and even a legend of a great, nigh-unstoppable wyrm lying in slumber somewhere down there.

Nematus was the only one of the clan who ever took legends seriously. But the fact that he only ever heard the same story about the wyrm caused him to not take it as seriously as one probably should've.

His group began clearing the palace out of all monsters they saw, starting from the entrance at Old Archades. Their plan was to make a complete sweep of the area from East to West. Leave no stone unturned. Nematus and Cifer partnered up, Nematus wielding his Ragnarok and Volcano bombs, while the latter had his ever trusted Wyrmhero Sword. That sword was a legend among legends of all swords. No great sword was more powerful. It gave its user instant bravery and faith buff, and attacked with holy-elemental damage. In short, it was the worst nightmare of any monster of darkness. Monsters that happen to litter the palace.

The two made their way through a massive hall and another room that had many strikers. The large, headless brutes stood no chance as they were all cut down by the monster hunters. Going through another door, they came into a series of tunnels, each brimming with flying imps and zombie knights. The winged creatures were fried by fire and lightning spells while Cifer disentegrated the zombies with a single slash to each of them. They made short work of all the weak monsters.

Within three hours, they had secured the entire palace without the loss of a single man.

Nematus was coming back towards the palace from the caves when suddenly, something seemed very off about the environment. The air and rooms were a disorienting hue of green, but only Nematus seemed to noticed this. Just at the end of his tunnel, was a fiery creature, one unlike any he's ever seen.

"Hey, you slouches missed one over here," he called out.

"Nematus, what are you talking about?" one asked. "There's nothing there."

"Wow, Max, that's an all time low for you. I knew you didn't like giving things your best effort, but acting like you're blind is taking it to a whole new level. Don't worry, I've got it." Nematus ran after the weird creature, but it disappeared through the door on the most eastern cave. "Woah, the thing's got some tricks."

He literally couldn't hear the shouts of his companions chasing after him as he gave chase. He continued chasing after the fast fire-thingy throughout the cavern palace, rounding the whole place in a clockwise pattern before entering into the room he was in before, only through another door. He saw the thing going through the doors on the other end of the massive room, so he sped after it.

"It's taking me in circles." He bursted through the doors and continued down the path that he'd just ran earlier, but this time, the creature took the first right instead of going all the way to the end of the room. He followed, hot on its tail, through the massive room again and through the tunnels. He arrived back into the small circular room on the side closest to the palace, than took a sharp right. He gave chase and finally caught up to it back in the center of the massive room.

The others were in the same room, but had to stop to catch their breathes. "Christ, Nematus, what the HELL were you chasing?" Maximillion asked. The rest were wondering that as well. Nematus turned towards where the creature was but it was gone.

"It was just-" A loud clicking sound echoed throughout the palace, causing everyone's heads to turn towards the way back to Archades.

"That sounded like a lock or something. It's coming from up there," Cifer pointed towards that circular room again. The whole group got to their feet and made their way to said room. There was another door that had been locked, but now it stood ajar.

"That wasn't open earlier," Cifer said. Just then, Nematus remembered that old story that moogle told him.

"Hey, remember what that moogle said?" He held up the key that he'd just happened to have. "He said that this key opened a hidden door somewhere in here that had a treasure. Do you think this leads to it?"

His questioned had everyone's ears and eyes on him and Cifer. The leader looked over each of them and shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well check it out."

They all prepared their weapons and gear, unsure of what they'd find. However, the prospect of finding hidden treasures was too good a chance to pass up for anybody. While most were thinking about money and living a luxurious lifestyle, Nematus was thinking of his parents and little brother, Jote, Sytk, and most of all..Mjrn. 'Maybe there'll be something in here that'd be the perfect gift.'

Some serious things were on his mind as the group made their way through the new pathway. As they were walking, several bats dropped from the ceiling, causing everyone to take action. Two of the hunters launched thundaga spells at the flying critters, but they were alot faster than anyone gave them credit for and dodged the lightning bolts.

"Them thing's fast. Careful," a bangaa by the name of Ba'luk, a support magicks person, warned. 'Enough of this,' Nematus thought. He gathered some of his mist and brought his hand to his forehead. A white circle appeared above his head, resembling some kind of portal.

**"Scathe.**" A massive white beam of energy shot from the portal and consumed the bats, leaving no trace of their existance behind. With them gone and Cifer leading the way, the group soon came upon a massive door. They all looked at Nematus as he went forward and found the keyhole. He took his key and inserted it, than with a hard twist, unlocked the doors.

With a push, the doors flew open. As the group made their way inside, Nematus looked over the door he'd opened and saw some writing on the door. Unable to read it, he didn't know it translated to _'Hall of the Wroth God."_ Once inside, the doors shut on their own, unnerving him.

The group looked around the enormous place. It was easily bigger then the other main hall not far from here. "This place is massive," one of the hunters said.

Everyone wordlessly agreed, but with that aside, they were really disappointed. All there was in this room were some collapsed doorways and a giant mound of earth and rocks. A few of the hunters decided to take a seat on the smallest part of it.

"Man, there's nothing here. You oughta kill that moogle next time you find him, Nematus."

There were murmurs of agreement. Not seeing anything interesting here, he turned to go back outside, but stopped. There in front of him was the same fire creature. It gave a bone-chilling laugh in a voice that seemed almost God-like and ran straight towards the pile of earth some of his buddies were sitting on.

"Everybody, look out!" he yelled. His yell got their attention all right, but they had no idea what he was worried about. The fire spirit or whatever ran and phased into the rubble.

"Nematus, what the hell's gotten into you? You look like you just saw a giant wyrm or some-"

RRAAWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!

The massive roar shook the entire palace to its very foundations, startling everyone. Even the citizens and Imperials in Old Archades trembled from the roar. The nearest buildings in the run-down city collapsed in on themselves. Back in the room, fire began breaking through the dirt and rocks that the men were sitting on just moments ago.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

A massive surge of power blew all of the rocks off, revealing the biggest wyrm Nematus had ever seen in his life. The wyrms in his people's legends were nowhere near this big! All across different points in its body, fire sprouted from its core. It stretched out its massive, magnificient wings that nearly touched the two opposite sides of the room at the same time.

RRAAWWWWWWWRRRRRR!

With its roar, a pillar of fire exploded from the ground underneath it that reached the ceiling. It drilled away at the palace's roof till there was a gaping hole reaching the surface. The pillar of fire continued to rise into the air, making it visible to everyone and everything between the Salikawood to New Archades. The people in Old Archades began panicking and ran towards the bridge connecting the two Archadias. The soldiers didn't know whether to run in to help the hunters who were most likely at the epicenter of the commotion, or call for back-up.

"Sir," a corporal came to the captain. "Orders, sir!" The captain's face was grim as he considered his options. He looked towards the massive pillar of fire. 'Hold on, you guys.' "Sir?"

"Get to the capital, and alert the Magistrates!" he bellowed. The soldier flinched from the volume of his captain's voice and quickly ran off. The bulky captain looked back at the pillar was looked to be subsiding. 'The damn legend was true. May the Gods have mercy on their souls.'

Nematus had never been so afraid in his life. Same could be said for everyone else. The size of the wyrm was unbelievable! Its maw was long and pointy, and had a massively long and sharp-lookin' horn on the tip of its nose. Its tail swung left and right. Nematus could only guess that it must've been around 30-40yds long. Its wings were massive and had bright patterns of yellow, orange, and red mixed together. Along the end of its wings and tails were beautiful orangish-yellow, semi-transparent 'feathers?'.

Despite how much danger he was in, he couldn't help but stare in awe and admiration. Even though it was undoubtably the most terrifying beast he's ever seen, it most absolutely the most beautiful one. Around its neck, wings, and tail, he noticed there were giant, colorful red/yellow/orange rings with a blue center that resembled the plain rings on the other wyrms he's faced, perhaps meant to imprison it.

"What've I done?" he asked.

Cifer was quick to order a retreat. Nobody stood still; they all rushed as quickly as they could to the door. Nematus was the closest, but the Hell Wyrm seemed to have had its eyes out for him. It began charging a mass of blue energy in its mouth from several points along the seal around its neck than fired. The blue beam flew with the speed of lightning and slammed into the doors. Large spots of molten rock began popping up on the walls, growing larger and larger.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" Nematus yelled at the top of his lungs.

He was able to get most of their attention, but two couldn't react in time. Everything within twenty feet of that entire wall was immediately consumed in a giant wall of magma that went from the floor to the ceiling. On the other side of the door, everything was in flames. It was as if the room on the inside was made to keep this beast in...and he'd just unlocked the front door.

The scale of destruction from that attack was seen by the airships traveling overhead at the time, and pitch black smoke rose in the air, signaling that something was definitely burning.

If Nematus hadn't been wearing his skull mask, he was sure his skin would've melted off from the heat. Now stuck between a wyrm and a hot place, everyone knew what this meant. Their only chance of survival was to defeat this hellish creature. They all prepared themselves for what would most certainly be the last battle they will ever have. The wyrm stood idle, pleased that his prey were going to make things interesting.

The Hell Wyrm was mostly interested in the one wearing the skull mask. He had been the only one to see his little spirit manifestation, which meant that he was far different from the humes and bangaas before him.

'_**You, in the mask. What are you called?'** _

Nematus wasn't expecting to beast to talk, much less telepathically. He didn't want to answer, but honestly, how can things get any worse?

'My name is Nematus, son of the Garif War-Chief Supinelu.'

**_'A hume..raised by Garifs? What has the world come to during my_**_** absence?**' _

'Don't mock my family! And it's not just the Garif; I've been tought by my Viera friends as well. Now, I normally wouldn't care to know a wyrm's name, but you're the first one I've met that can talk. Why are you so special?'

Everyone had noticed the Nematus hadn't drawn his sword yet, and were wondering what in God's blazes was up with him; he was just having a staring contest with this monstrosity of a wyrm. The wyrm started laughing hysterically at Nematus' unheard question, drawing some 'What the fuck?' looks towards them both.

'_**I am one of the oldest wyrms to have ever graced this world. I have held the title 'King of Hell' for millennia! I traversed to and from the underworld, imposing my power upon both worlds.'** _

''Oh shit," Nematus said aloud, getting the others' attention. Of all of the wyrms, why did he have to stumble upon the worst one of them all? 'So, why are you in here? I'm guessing you were imprisoned here. The only beings I can think of that possess such power over the king of Hell are the Gods themselves.'

**_'You are very smart for a confused hume. Yes, I was imprisoned down here. These glyphs on my body robbed me of my ability to fly. I have slept for eons, and would have continued...but I sense a change of atmosphere among the Gods.'_**

'What? What are you talking about? What kind of change?' Nematus asked. What could happen amongst the Gods for this creature, this..King of Hell, to awaken?

**_'Their power has been weakened somehow. I'm not quite sure myself, but there is a gradual shift in power occuring as we speak. In fact, it is not far from here. Tell me, what has happened in the history that you know?'_**

Seriously? This guy wanted a history lesson, of all things? 'I don't know much about the Gods specifically, but right now, there is war the likes of which hasn't happened in several lifetimes going on. The entire kingdom of Nabradia was wiped out in a single blast over night just a year ago. The mist is so thick there, that only ghouls, zombies, and abominable monsters can live there. And if I've heard right, the worse has yet to come.'

The wyrm started chuckling, though it sounded like a dragon coughing. '_**You humes know only how to kill one another. If the Gods' powers continue weakening, these glyphs will lose their power, and I will be free to fly again. They will not be able to stop me. And thanks to you, Nematus, all I'll have to do when that time comes is walk out. Hahahahaaahaha!'** _

Fury began building up inside of Nematus. This bastard was planning on destroying the world all over again, and he will accomplish that because of HIM! "13 Swords Clan.." they gave him their divided attention.

"This monster...is the King of Hell." The shocked expressions on their faces couldn't be described with words. "I know you all feel like you will die, but listen to me. This wyrm has been talking to me inside my mind. He says the Gods imprisoned him here, to stop his reign of destruction, and put those glyphs on his body to keep him from flying again. But he told me that he's awaken because their power is waning."

The others were having trouble comprehending just what this meant, but Cifer knew immediately. "And if their power fails, those glyphs will die, and he'll be free to fly again. And since you opened the door, all he has to do is kill us and walk out. Am I right, Nematus?"

Nematus nodded, confirming the fears of all of them. "Which means, if we don't stop him here, then he'll destroy everything we know and love." With his improved hearing, he can hear the hearts of all of his friends beating rapidly. He didn't know what else he could say to quell their fears, but thankfully, Cifer took the reigns from there.

"Gentlemen, I'm not going to lie. Some, if not all of us, are going to die. But..Nematus has got a point. This 'Hell Wyrm' wants to destroy everything we care for. No matter what you decide from here, that thing will mean the end of the world for us all. You know what I say?" He stepped forward, unsheathing his Wyrmhero sword.

(_Que ending song, Let It Out, Miho Fukuhara, FMAB)_

"You want this world, Kingy? Well, you can have it..over my dead body." Nematus and the rest flanked him on the sides, branding their own weapons.

"Heh, I must have hit my head or something. Can't believe I'm doing this," one of the hunters said, chuckling in between words. The rest spoke up as well, saying their own things.

"Maria, take care of our Evelyn for me. I'm sorry."

"I've never done anything worthwhile in my life. I guess this is one helluva time to start. hehe."

"If I survive, I'll have helped save the world. If I die, then atleast I'll be with my son and wife again."

"I like Ivalice alot, ya big lizard. I don't take to kindly to yer types around here."

"Looks like I won't be back in time for my mother's birthday. Sorry to leave you all alone, Mom."

"You'll pay for Agnus and Larence's deaths, you bastard."

"I'll give my all. Whether I die or live, atleast I'll go down in a blaze of glory."

"I'm with you, Cifer. If this guy's suppose to be the king of Hell, then allow me to give 'his majesty' a royal ass-kicking before I die," Maximillion said.

"My parents trained me since the day I was born...so I would have the power to protect my friends...my family...and the people I love," Nematus stated, making sure Hell Wyrm heard him.

Images of his mom, dad, Johan, Jote, Sytk, and Mjrn flash through his head and his grip on his sword tightens.

_"I promise I wont' cry...if you promise you won't die." _

_"I promise."_

The smile on his face was unseen. "I will prove that their efforts have not been wasted! Prepare yourself, King of Hell! Those glyphs haven't lost their power yet, which means that you're not unstoppable!"

The Hell Wyrm gave a roar in challenge back. '**_You mortals would die to stop my ascension? How noble of you. I will be sure to have a special place in Hell for you all!'_ **With that roar, he stomped towards the group of heroes and began a battle that will never be known by those who weren't there to experience it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Bam. Howdaya like dem apples? Bet none of you saw that coming, did ya'll? I will finish this story in the next chapter, but when will I post it, nobody knows. If you wanna hate, do it. This is a fanfiction in an alternate universe. If you wanna throw some love at me, I'm all hands. Thanks for reading, and thanks to those who've reviewed. Stay tuned for the finale! You don't want to miss it!**


	6. God Among Mortals

**A/N: This is it. This is the finale. The final chapter of this character's backstory. You've all watched Nematus go into the grinder as a useless rock, and emerge into a diamond. He's managed to do the near impossible for a hume and become friends with the Golmore Viera. He has become an S ranked hunter at the age of 18, having just started mark hunting at 14. He's toppled beasts of all sizes and shapes, and has survived wounds that should've killed him. But he has never faced an opponent like this one.**

**Hell Wyrm, the King of Hell, the wyrm that was so destructive, the Gods themselves had to stop him. How can eleven men stand against such a being?**

**This song was perfect for this scene. It's like K's FMV, but the scenes are literal translations of the battle. The song's name is Save the One, Save the All. I don't own the song or anything FFXII canon. **

**Now on with the story!**

* * *

><p><strong>A God Among Mortals<strong>

**Ichizu nara kono yono hate demo **  
><strong>Mamoru omoi wa hitori ja nai... <strong>

The Hell Wyrm charged at the group. Everyone quickly scattered and the support characters began throwing buffs on their party, such as Protectga, Hastega, Shellga, and Bubble. The other spell casters tried to inflict ailments upon the giant wyrm, but it proved immune to all, save for Dispel. Poison, Blind, Slow, Stop, nothing worked at all! The hell wyrm started casting several different spells at once. It fired off a Blizzaga, a Thundaga, than ended it with a Darkga. The close range fighters, like Maximillion, Nematus, and Cifer, started attacking different parts of the beast at once. Nematus was surprised by how easily he had cut through the carapace of the wyrm, but seconds later, it resealed itself.

**_'Your attacks are futile. How can mere mortals hope to stop a God?' _**it bellowed.

**Hazushita taga wo kakechigaete**  
><strong>Zenryoku no hou ga kuse ni naru <strong>

The group of brave hunters held their own surprisingly well. Their luck was contributed to the glyphs that withheld the Hell Wyrm from utilizing its full strength. Gathering up his mist, Cifer launched a quickening. The ground started to crack open at different points. Suddenly, twelve large vines about 100ft tall sprouted from the cracks and attacked the wyrm. Some held its legs down while the others impaled its body several times.

The beast gave a defiant roar that set the vines on fire. The intensity of the fire grew till the vines were nought but ash. _'**You contain much mist for a hume, and you're able to use it as a weapon. Impressive, but hopeless.'**_

**Tagitta honki yaeru shin ga**  
><strong>Geeji wo raku ni furikitte <strong>

It shifted its focus to Cifer, ignoring the pitiful spells from several casters that struck his body. Whatever wounds were made soon resealed themselves afterwards. One hunter tripped over a piece of rubble and scrambled to get up, but his life ended when the Hell king raked him with his powerful claws, tearing the man in three.

"You monster!" Nematus yelled. He started charging his mist into his sword to prepare one of his stronger attacks. He won't let that happen to Cifer if he can help it. The leader was able to keep just out of reach of the wyrm's massive swipes, but the beast was closing in on him. He looked over and saw Nematus running towards him and got an idea.

**Jidai ni netsusserareteku kaze wo dokomade oikakerareu**

The next swipe that attempted to kill him, he rolled underneath it and ran between the wyrm's legs. The beast's head followed till it could no more and looked up, just in time for Nematus' Ragnarok to leave a huge gash in its jaw. The pain was minimal, like an ant bite, but the explosion of condensed mist felt to him like a hornet sting to a child hume's face would. The red explosion blew open the wound to about five feet, which made the dragon abit pissed off.

_**'You'll pay for that, Nematus. I'll crush you like the worm you are!'** _it yelled as the wound steadily healed itself.

**Ichizu nara kono chi no hate made**  
><strong>Mukau senaka ni kotoba nado nakute mo<strong>

"You talk too much, Wyrm," he shot back.

No one could tell, but Hell Wyrm grinned. It charged up an aeroga spell in just a few seconds and launched it at him. The air above Nematus began swirling into a tight vortex of wind and came down upon him. He was able to twist his body in mid-air to avoid the spell, but it was a trap. The aeroga caused him to jump right into an awaiting darkga. He could see the black spot on the ground underneath. Then without further delay, it shot up, surrounding him in a pillar of darkness. When it ended, he stumbled forth, some burns and cuts visible on his body.

**Asu dake ga yume wo hashiraseru**  
><strong>Mamoru omoi wa hitori ja nai ima nara<strong>

-_Uncertain amount of time later _

They'd been fighting for a very long time, they all knew that. None, though, had a real sense of time since they have all been trapped in here, and every second fighting this wyrm felt like a minute. Nematus just finished attacking the inside of its legs, hopefully to ground it for a little bit, but the cuts healed faster than he could make them. Hell Wyrm began charging his super attack, Judgement, for what seemed like the third time now. Everyone said a silent prayer, because everytime it has used that attack, someone died.

It fired the huge deathbeam into the wall. Having quickly gotten used to it, everyone ran from that specific side of the room. However, the red spot that always appeared on the wall that was hit started spreading to the other walls as well. Nematus looked around, but all of the walls were about to be engulfed in hellfire. The only chance for survival was to get close to the center, right where the wyrm was.

**Hokyuu kikanai tamashii ni**  
><strong>Tsumi mo itami mo buchikonda<strong>

He didn't like it, but it was their only shot. "Everyone, the walls aren't safe. To the center!" The others would've thought he'd gone mad, but they'd rather fight a wyrm than be roasted alive. Thanks to his quick decision, nobody was killed by the walls of fire that exploded from the ground.

Hell Wyrm, though impressed with Nematus environmental awareness, took a deep breath and unleashed his stone breath. The grey smoke engulfed three of the hunters, infecting them with Stop. He would've raked them all to death, but when he left his front-right limb up, Maximillion had jumped up and struck his Scorpion Tail as deep into the dragon's neck as possible.

**Mezashita saki de kowareru nara**  
><strong>Sono hahen demo nokoshitai<strong>

With a wide swing of its head, it flung Maximillion off and into the nearby fires. Everyone's morale dropped dramatically, but an explosion of mist from within the fire got their attention. Out came a massive figure that was hovering on some kind of giant, golden scale. Its face was ancient looking, with a pair of long horns going out to the side.

"Exodus," Maximillion spoke. "Let's start the real ass-kicking now." Hell Wyrm couldn't believe his eyes. _**'An Esper? With a hume master? This is hilarious!**_' It laughed again, but a blast to the face by a scathe shut him up. Exodus, being the most ancient of the scions, knew of Hell Wyrm, and to see it awake seemed to really piss the old thing off. It charged up twelve more scathes and launched them all at the same time. The room was filled with criss-crossing beams of energy, all seeming to blow right through Hell Wyrm.

**Obieru jibun wo mi mosezu ni doushite tooku e ikeru?**

The King of Hell recovered quicker than expected and launched his special attack meant for killing Espers. His **Breakart Pentagram** was basically a one-hit kill technique against Espers. This was also the move he'll use to destroy the Gods once and for all once he gets out. He shot a beam from his mouth, like with Judgement, but once it hit Exodus, a five-star pentagram appeared around it. From the five points, lightning shot up into the esper, causing it tremendous pain.

Maximillion had to dive out of the way as his esper literally blew up. (**A/N: I've never seen what the Breakart Pentagram looks like, nor were there any videos, so I completely made this up.) **

When he landed, he told everyone that he needed to get his axe back, so they needed to cover him. Cifer nodded and performed his quickening again, but Hell Wyrm was more than ready for it. It launched dozens of firaga spells at the incoming tentacles, turning them to smoldering ashes before they could ever reach it. It however, didn't know that the quickening was a distraction for Nematus to perform his own quickening from behind.

He gathered a hefty amount of his mist and MP and began his attack. "**Black Devourer!**" Two black interdimensional rifts opened up above Hell Wyrm. A pair of large, black hands reached out of the portal and forced it open more. Pulling itself out was a massive humanoid being made of pure shadow. Its slitted eyes glowed an unearthly yellow as it locked onto its master's target.

From the other portal, a large serpent about about 50yds long and 10yds wide slithered out. Its eyes were a fiery yellow color as well. Before the Hell Wyrm could react, the large snake wrapped its body around the wyrm's own body, constricting it. The wyrm roared as it strained against the powerful creature of darkness. The first one that resembled a giant titan finally pulled its entire body from the portal. Capitalizing on its advantage, the 20m tall shadow giant reared its fists back and began wailing on the Hell Wyrm's head. Each blow shooked the cavern as punch after punch rattled the teeth of the king of Hell while at the same time, its partner was strangling the dragon.

The display of power was aweing, causing the hunters to stop their fighting and watch the battle between the three mammoths. Nematus order the humanoid one to stop so Maximillian could retrieve his axe. After that task was accomplished, Hell Wyrm took the pause in the beating to began charging another Judgement beam. Everyone saw this but didn't know where to scramble to find cover. They had no idea where the attack was going to be focused at.

Taking its chance before the shadow monster could continue its assault, Hell Wyrm launched his Judement. Everyone watched as the beam went straight into the portal that Nematus' monsters came from. Once it all vanished inside, a couple of seconds passed before an unbelievably hot fire erupted from the portals. With their way home destroyed, the beasts soon dissipated into a black mist. Nematus was at a loss for words.

'It figured out how my quickening maintained itself that fast?'

**_'I have lived for tens of thousands of years, little child. I am far more perceptive then you give me credit for_,'** it announced.

Well, though the whole point of the quickening was to give Maximillion time to get his weapon back, Nematus was kinda hoping that quickening would've done more damage. The indentions from the snake's constricting soon filled out again, leaving no sign that the monstrous serpeant had even harmed it.

**Ichiru demo nozomi wo moyashite**  
><strong>Nobasu ryoute wa hikari wo atsumeteku<strong>

Everyone was dog-beat tired. This everyone included only Cifer and Nematus. Maximillian had fallen not hours ago. It casted some sort of spell that refilled their MP, but drained the group's health to critical states. It was during this confusion that Hell Wyrm finished him off with a stone breath. It was just the two of them left. All across the massive hall's floor laid the deceased bodies of the people they had come to call 'family.'

It seemed no matter how much damage they did, it was never enough. But, there was good news: Hell Wyrm's wounds have stopped regenerating. He must be running low on energy. They've been at this same song and dance for God knows how long. Seeing this, hope began to build in the two's hearts, while the smallest seed of doubt began to sprout within the Hell Wyrm's own.

**_'What are these humes?_'** it thought to itself. **_'They have survived longer then anything I've faced before. My energy is running low and my wounds have stopped healing. I must end this so I may replenish what has been lost. It's time to take this to the next level_.'**

**Kyou dake no yume de owarasenai**  
><strong>Mamoru kizuna ga hitotsu ja nai ima koso <strong>

Hell Wyrm began casting third level spells of all elements in rapid succession. His magicks were piercing, so the Reflect spells were a useless defense for the humes. All they could do was cast the Shell buff on themselves to lessen the damage from his powerful attacks. The humes recasted Faith, than Hastega and Protectga, than finished it with Bubble. Using the special MP they tried to save for their Quickenings to cast buffs on them was taking its toll. With all of their support mages dead, they had only each other to look after.

"Cifer..If we die," Nematus began, but the ragidy, exhausted man stopped him there.

"Don't even think about dying, Nematus. You've got so many people waiting for you. We've got the fate of the world at stake here. Any doubt will only get you killed." Nematus didn't say anything else, knowing it would only result in further scolding. When they finished defending against the barrages of spells the best they could, they took the momentary intermission to recover their breath.

As Nematus did, he observed his surroundings. The Hall was in shambles. Piles of rocks laid strewn over almost every square foot of the floor. There were massive holes in the walls from the series of devastating Judgement attacks. There were several more holes, about 15yds in diameter, scattered along the ceiling, letting some of the cool air and sunlight flow into the hot atmosphere of the room.

**Uchitsuzukeru kodou ga shakunetsu no kusari nara**  
><strong>Tada setsuna ni tsunagareta inochi dake wo shinjiau<strong>

The massive wyrm continued to have trouble killing the two stubborn humes. Their attacks, though small, sometimes large, were taking its toll on him. It was in utter disbelief. How can humes-mere, measley humes-make him work this hard? He was the king of HELL! The Shadow of Death! The Gods' Bane! Yet, here he was, feeling the strain in his body from the battle of attrition that had been waging for quite some time now.

Nematus created another quickening, though he didn't summon the shadow monsters this time. Their effectiveness had ended at the second summoning. No, this time, mist began pouring into his body through every pore and orafice on his body till his skin felt like it was going to explode. His eyes glowed a ghostly yellow and he started running at Hell Wyrm. The beast lunged at him, but he used the mist gathered in his feet to propel himself upwards to the ceiling. When he got to the top, he flipped, planting his feet on the ceiling, and pushed off, coming straight down onto the wyrm.

With a mighty stab of the sword into its back, the wyrm felt tremendous pain as he was completely engulfed in an area-wide explosion. Within the dust, the beast still stirred, though reeling from that monstrous blow. Not waiting for the air to clear, it swung its tail in a complete, 360degree arc. When Nematus had jumped clear of its back, he had sensed with his hearing the rushing sound of something large. He jumped just in the nick of time as the wyrm's massive tail cleared the floor where he was standing.

To his horror, a piercing yell reached his ears. It was Cifer's voice. When he got his footing again, he rushed to where he last heard him. Following the sounds of some moaning, he found his leader lying up against the far wall. He was slouched over, his entire torso bleeding through his clothes.

"NOOOOO!" Nematus tried to check his wounds, but Cifer brushed his hands away.

"Don't worry about me, you damn fool. You've got bigger problems to worry about besides this broken fella." He tried to laugh, but instead, blood found its way out of his mouth.

"Cifer..let me try to heal your wounds. You can't give up now...not after we've come all this way!" His will was breaking, as was his heart, when more blood continued to pour out like a faucet.

"Just...kill that bastard for me, won't cha?" Cifer handed him his WyrmHero Sword. "He's weakness is the Holy element, that much I've figured out. This sword gives its user bravery and faith, and it's embued with that very element. It'd do better than that Ragnarok of yours."

Nematus refused to accept it. "No, you're not giving me that sword! You're not going to die!" Cifer, with some of the last ounce of strength he had, pushed the handle into his chest.

"Take the damn thing, you idiot. I'll...just wait here and catch my breath for a little bit," he said weakly, but still with a strained smile. "Knock'em dead, Kiddo." His body soon laxed, his head dropping slowly to his chest. His breathing, once ragid, was barely noticeable. Nematus' tears burned like acid against his skin. Soon, they gave way to hatred. Hatred that has never been rivaled by any sane being. He grabbed his skull mask and took it off, the first time in a while, and laid it by Cifer's side.

The roars of the Hell Wyrm filled the cavern as it searched through the still dusty air for its targets. Nematus, with his being replaced with nothing but rage and desire for vengeance, laid his Ragnarok on Cifer's lap and took the WyrmHero Sword. Upon picking it up, his body instanty gained the Bravery and Faith buffs, increasing his muscle mass and spell powers. He turned towards the giant wyrm and ran at it, roaring like a mad man.

**Ichizu nara kono chi no hate made**  
><strong>Mukau senaka ni kotoba nado nakute mo<strong>

The Hell Wyrm felt its strength waning in the face of this unseen terror. Nematus was using the dust that clouded the air of the entire room to attack it from any side. When he'd land a blow, cut, or stab in one place, Hell Wyrm would react and launch several Firaga or Thundaga spells where Nematus was suspected of being. Only when it focused its attention there would Nematus attack from another end. When the dust would finally settled, Nematus would perform the same aerial-stab technique, recreating the dust cloud and causing more damage to the King of Hell.

This cycle continued for what felt like hours. Nematus' MP would only slowly replenish itself when he ran or attacked. The wyrm had long stopped using that Invert move, perhaps having figured out that its effectiveness ended when the humes figured out how it worked. After the tenth time of that same damn cycle, Hell Wyrm had finally lost his temper.

**_'You think you can kill me? You dare to defy the King of HELL! Such foolishness can only be cured with DEATH!'_**It started charging its Judgement beam up again. He needed to know where Nematus was. He flapped his massive wings a few times, creating a giant gust that cleared all of the dust in seconds. He looked around but didn't see the hume. Hearing something, he looked up to see Nematus preparing to push off of the ceiling again.

_**'NOT THIS TIME, WORM!'** _

Nematus' yellow eyes widened as the Hell Wyrm finally caught onto his strategy. His heart sanked into his chest when the beast looked up and fired the Judgement beam right at him. Moving only from the reflexes that've been honed by his training with the Viera and himself in his personal freetime, he was able to jump from the ceiling over to the side. The beam hit the massive ceiling.

Seconds later, as expected, dozens...no, hundreds! of red spots appeared. He knew what was going to happen. This entire room was about to become an inferno! He didn't see any immediate way out of this until he saw the wyrm. His eyes widened as he rechecked to make sure if he was crazy. He had an idea, but it probably had a 0.0000001% chance of success.

"It's all or nothing." He sprinted as fast as he could towards the Hell Wyrm. His steps' pace and stride increased ten-fold when he felt the rock he was running on heat up. 'Almost...there.'

He jumped towards the wyrm and landed on its back between its wings just as the fires of Hell consumed 90% of the entire room. He laid flat on his back as he watched the wall of fire rush upwards all around him. The heat was so intense, the hairs on his head and body singed nearly to their roots. They would later grow back, though. He screamed in agony as the flames were only ten feet away from him on all sides.

The explosion blew up the rest of the ceiling, letting the outside world make first eye-contact with what was truly going on. The Archadian military had dispatched several cruisers over the sight, but they had no clear idea of what they were up against. However, when the top finally blew, the shockwave rocked all of the ships over the explosion, sending all shiphands off their feet.

Judge Magistrate Zargabaath regained his feet and peered over the edge of his bridge's railing. Staring down into the pit, his eyes widened as the sight of a monstrous wyrm was caught. "Prepare to launch bombers! We've got a massive wyrm down there. If it gets out, it could make for Archades, and cause untold damage."

The crew acknowledged and began loading preparations. The ship soon came alive with activity.

"Such...heat! It's...unbear...-able!" After twenty seconds, the flames finally died down. When he opened his eyes, he was met with a brilliant shower of sunlight. 'The Sun?' He hadn't seen the sun in forever, it felt like!

**Ichiru demo nozomi wo moyashite**  
><strong>Nobasu ryoute wa hikari wo atsumeteku<strong>

Unnoticed by them, the body of Cifer was missing, undoubtably burnt to oblivion by the fire. Remembering just where he was, Nematus turned over and jumped onto the wyrm's head. Now would've been a good time to use a Volcano bomb, but he was out of them. So instead, he impaled his blade against the back of the skull of the wyrm several times, stabbing it wildly as it tossed its head back and forth to rid it of its unwanted occupant.

Nematus was finally thrown off. He landed against the rock wall, which was still very hot from the Judgement attack. The impact caused all of his wounds healed earlier by his curaga to reopen, resulting in a sudden bleeding frenzy. The smell of the hume's blood seemed to please the wyrm, if its smile was any indication.

_**'Those wounds look serious. If they aren't sought too soon, than you could die from blood loss. I will admit, despite how much it wounds my pride. You humes have given me a fight that I thought only the Gods could give. Tell me, what did you say you are fighting me for? What could make you fight so hard?'**_

Nematus didn't know whether this was some sort of joke or not. This wyrm has done nothing but insult them all and kill his friends. Why would it care what he fought for? "Why bother asking? It shouldn't matter to you," he said weakly. He got a growl for his response.

**_'Be glad that I'm letting you continue breathing. I could just eat you right now and be done with this. I've already made my reasons clear, you have not?'_**

"Fine..you want to know what I fight for? I'm fighting for my family, my friends in Rabanastre, on the Ozmone Plains, and in the Golmore Jungle. I'm also...fighting for the woman who I care about greatly," he admitted. "Does that answer your question?"

_**'Yes. Prepare yourself, Nematus. There will be no more breaks after this. By the end of this day, one will stand...and one will fall.'** _

"I could not have said it better myself, King of Hell." Nematus staggered to his feet shakily, his body littered with lacerations, burns, cuts, bruises, and fractured bones. His body shouldn't be able to move now, but somehow, something was giving him the strength to continue.

From the bridge of the Achilles, the soon-to-be retired flagship of the Archadian 12th fleet, Zargabaath watches as a single man challenges the wyrm. ''That fool will get himself killed. Where are our bombers, Flight Master? I wanted them in the air ten minutes ago!"

Nematus looks up and notices all of the warships closing in on their position. "It looks like you've got bigger problems than me to worry about." He pointed up into the sky. Hell Wyrm's head looked in said direction and noticed dozens of massive rocks flying in the air.

_**'What are those things?'** _

After a brief explaination, the wyrm understood its current situation. Those humes were most likely going to be gunning for him instead of Nematus. Without warning, it launched several dozens of third level spells at Nematus, just to keep him busy. While the hunter was busy, Hell Wyrm charged another Judgement, aiming for the biggest ship out of them all. Nematus saw what it was doing, but he could do nothing as Hell Wyrm launched its ultimate attack at the fleet.

Zargabaath's eyes widen inside of his helmet as the giant beam came straight at his ship. "ALL HANDS, BRACE FOR IMPACT!" He gripped the railing and braced himself as the massive beam crashed into the rear of the ship. The rocking knocked all unprepared soldiers about like ragdolls within the bowels of the Achilles, but the real terror had yet to show itself. Seconds later, Zargabaath was about to ask for a status report when a secondary explosion, much, MUCH larger than the initial impact, turned the entire rear half of the ship into molten steel.

"ALL HANDS, ABANDON SHIP! THE ACHILLES IS GOING DOWN! ALL REMAINING SHIPS, BEGAN RESCUE OPERATIONS WHILE FOCUSING ALL OF YOUR FIRE ON THE WYRM IN THE SOCHEN CAVE PALACE!" As he issued his last orders for the ship, he took a moment to say farewell to it before making his way to the escape pods.

**Kyou dake no yume de owarasenai**  
><strong>Mamoru kizuna ga hitotsu ja nai<strong>

Nematus had watched the beam obliterate the biggest ship of the bunch, and even taking two smaller ships nearby with it. He was powerless to save those innocent soldiers. He saw the dozens of fighters and bombers of all shapes and sizes speeding towards their location. Taking the initiative, he gathered mist into his legs and jumped upwards, using aerial recover a few times to reach the top of the edge of the hole that used to be the palace's ceiling.

Not ten seconds after he landed, the ships began to perform vertical dives over the hole, dropping unguided munitions on top of Hell Wyrm. The satisfactory roars of pain that accompanied the dozens of explosions, ones that knocked him off his feet, were both painful and blissful to his ears. The whole great hall below him rocked and trembled from the continuous bombardment by the Archadian Empire. He'd personally counted over twenty different explosions before the first wave completed their bombing run. The next wave was about a minute away.

_**'NEMATUUUUUUUSSSS! THIS ISN'T OVER YET!'** _his enemy bellowed. It released a surge of mist that caused the incoming bombers to malfunction and crash all over the place, despite the distance they were at. Nematus looked over the edge of the burning hole and saw the giant wyrm, body bruised and bleeding profusely, climbing up the side of the wall. Paw after paw moved up the wall, bringing its body closer to the outside world. There didn't seem to be anymore ships coming as of now, so he was the only one left that could stand in its way.

He began charging up all of the mist that he could, focusing it into his upper-body and WyrmHero Sword. When one of the paws reached over the edge, Nematus casted a Holy spell onto it. The spell singed the paw, causing it to release its hold and the owner to roar in pain. He repeated the process to the other hand that was just beneath the edge. The same thing happened, but before Hell Wyrm could fall back down into the abysmal hole, its previous paw dug into the side of the hall, stopping its fall.

It fired another Judgement beam, but this one went too far vertically and passed infront of Nematus' face by just a few feet. The beam continued upwards until it exploded into the atmosphere, causing the most magnificient display of raw energy that he'd ever seen. It dwarfed the other Judgements in comparison, as its blaze turned the entire sky blood red. Recovering from his stupor, Nematus proceeded to fend off the advance of the wyrm by casting Holy onto its limbs.

'This is not doing any good. He'll just keep on coming.' He started charging up all of the mist he had left, not missing a single ounce. He had enough for one more giant attack. Unknown to him, Hell Wyrm was on his last leg as well. The glyphs withheld most of his power, so he was now almost empty. He had just enough for one last Judgement, and he would not miss this time.

He noticed Nematus was building his mist levels up as well, probably thinking the same thing. Planting its feet firmly into the walls to insure his perch, Hell Wyrm began charging his last Judgement up. After this fight was over, he would recover his energy and await his time to fly again. Nothing was going to stand in his way, especially some hume who thought he was a Garif. The combined mist levels of the two had the very air in their area sufforcating all the plantlife, though the wyrm's made up the majority of it. As they were building up their mist, something amazing happened. A miracle.

Dozens of long tentacles shot from within the hole, either impaling themselves into Hell Wyrm's body, or wrapping around its legs and wings. Both beings had no idea what was going on, until Nematus looked deeper into the hole and saw what he was sure was a ghost. There stood Cifer, body shaking violently from just supporting his own weight. His eyes were glowing green and his body has a green auro surrounding him as he was exhausting all of his life energy into this last attack.

"Kid, build up your mist! Attack when the time is right! You'll know when!"

Nematus was literally crying with joy that his leader was alive. "Cifer! You're alive! How? How'd you survive that Judgement that burnt the entire room?"

"KID, DON'T BOTHER ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS! JUST ATTACK WHEN YOU'VE GOT ENOUGH ENERGY!" His voice was different, as if he was a robot. He's sacrificing his entire life's energy into this final quickening, trying to make an opening for Nematus to land a killing blow. He fell to his knees, but didn't let up on trying to pull the Hell Wyrm off the wall. The wyrm gave a massive roar of rage as it fought to keep its hold on the wall.

**_'You stubborn hume! Don't interfere!'_ **It launched several firaga spells on the vines, burning them. But before they lost their grip on Hell Wyrm, others would take their place to keep on the pressure. Vine after vine was destroyed, but Cifer somehow always managed to summon more to aid him.

"Alright, Cifer! I'm as ready as I can be!" Nematus called down.

"About damn time! Get ready! THIS IS IIIIIIIIITTTTT!" He gave a monstrous tug with the vines while sending several more to break the wall around the wyrm's footholds. Nematus jumped down towards the beast, while at the same time, Hell Wyrm launched its **Final Judgement **up at him. Because of the sudden loss of its hold, the wyrm was pulled backwards, causing the beam to rip across the sky.

It tore through the atmosphere at an unmatchable speed. Many seconds later, it finally detonated, deep in the Exosphere. The flash was like that of an atomic bomb's, blinding every living thing for hundreds of miles. (**A/N: It's three times brighter and larger than the explosion the Sun-Cryst made when Reddas destroyed it.)** Its blastwave was felt all over Ivalice. Over in the Jahara and Eruyt Villages, all stopped what they were doing and took noticed of the Earth trembling beneath their feet and the blast of light that seemed to cover the entire atmosphere of the Earth with a red hue.

As the beast fell, Nematus had a clear path straight at its chest. As it fell on top of Cifer, the man's body disappearing into a cloud of mist particles at having used his entire lifeforce, Nematus stabbed the WyrmHero Sword dead center in its chest. The explosion that followed caused the walls around them to collapse inward and the ground to crater. When the dust settled, the Hell Wyrm laid still on its back, but was still breathing.

Nematus couldn't believe the thing was still alive, even with a magnificient hole in its chest, so he said the only thing anyone would have said. "You really are a God..in your own right." he said between deep breaths. Upon hearing that, the Hell Wyrm chuckled before slowly rolling onto its belly. It lacked the strength to even stand on its legs, much less fight on.

_**"So what now? Both of us have nothing left. These glyphs were my downfall in the end. Just knowing that the Gods are up there laughing at my loss to a band of humes infuriates me. Yet I lack the strength to fight them. Will you strike me down, to take revenge for your fallen brothers? To save those you love? To save a world that will not know of what you did here today, or will even thank you?"**_

It looked Nematus in the eyes. The young man was surprised to see actual, genuine curiosity in the wyrm's large eyes. He thought about it. And made his choice.

* * *

><p>Nematus climbed out of the rubble with what strength he could. His body was damaged beyond recognition. Some new power was giving him the strength to continue staying alive. He took one last look down the hole, saying a prayer for his lost comrades. He manuevered a strange, glowing ring out of his palm and onto his right, ring finger. He now had the perfect gift; the power to always be able to protect those he loves and cares about. He shouldered Cifer's WyrmHero Sword and began walking off into the setting sun, leaving behind the sight of the titanic battle to return home. He's never missed it so much as he does now.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that's it. That's the final chapter of this story. How long did they actually fight? Well, only K Entertainment knows that, along with me. Did Nematus finish off Hell Wyrm? Why wouldn't he? Who thought Cifer's surprise comeback was pretty epic. If that was in the game, that'd been pretty awesome. What did I mean when I wrote that he finally had the perfect gift? What could it possibly be? Well, it's 1:37a.m. here, so I'm gonna turn in for the morning. Please review and tell me what you think.**


	7. Epilogue

**A/N: This is just some extras about Nematus after surviving his battle against the Hell Wyrm. It's not much, but I was bored, so I wrote it anyway. For any who don't know, this is an Alternate Universe; the same one the K Entertainment's Clan Infamous is in, so no one better give me any grief about, 'oh, what is this crap? It's not following that storyline, or this part, or Vaan already did that', bullshit. Some people may be OOC, but I wasn't satisfied with the little bit of developement they had in the game, and their attitude to friends and family are almost a complete mystery, so I'm making stuff up.**

* * *

><p>Everystep he took, he felt his body was about to break apart on him. The bleeding from his wounds had continued till they finally closed by natural healing, but the bigger ones weren't that easy to fix. Yet he kept walking. Behind him, the city of Archades was becoming smaller and smaller. The airships that had survived the attack from Hell Wyrm crowded over the scene. Little dots in the sky moved up and down from the earth to the ships, searching for injured, or for the wyrm.<p>

They will never find the Wroth God. He made sure of it. Watching the monster's body burst into that tremendously massive cloud of red spirit particles that moved with a life of its own.

No.

They will never find it. Only he knew where the beast now resided. For a God, it now suffered a fate worse than death.

Another stream of blood squirted out from a wound on his stomach, the wound having somehow reopened as he walked. He had no MP left to cast Curaga on himself. The blood loss was making his vision blurry and body tired. He wanted to just stop and rest. The Wyrmhero sword weighed like a three hundred pound boulder. But..what if he didn't wake up after he closed his eyes. It was fear of the darkness...the fear of death-NO...the fear of making his family and friends cry because of him. It was that fear that kept him going; gave him the strength to lift his eyelids up just as he thought they would close for good.

_He_ hasn't said anything ever since the battle. Not about anyone he passed by, or gave him strange looks. Not to voice his thoughts or opinions about everything he saw. _He_ almost wanted to laugh at the slip-up in his thoughts. Being afraid of his own death, hilarious. Pointless. He'd fought and survived against one of the greatest monsters to ever roam Ivalice. That achievement in itself would make him a God amongst men if word ever got out..

...but he would tell no one, save for his family and close friends, about that. Not until he believed them to be ready. That made _his_ curiosity grow. He also wouldn't tell them of his new secret. His burden.

No. They can't know about that. Not until he believed them to be ready. He couldn't tell any stranger unless his life was surely in peril. And if his life were ever in peril, and if he did ever have to reveal it, then it'd be alright...because that person wouldn't live to tell a soul. _He_ would make sure of that. _He_ wouldn't want word to spread around the world about them either.

His feet, black and grey from ashe and dirt, encrusted by blood and sweat, dragged across the ground. They looked like two lumps of charcoal attached to his ankles. The rest of his body wasn't much better for eyes. He was completely naked as well, save for the necklace Jote had given him. One of those Judgements near the end of his battle had not only burned all of his hair nearly to their roots, but his clothes were gone as well.

* * *

><p>He didn't know how long he had been walking. He was near the Salikawood, he knew. Walking to a ledge of rock, he came upon the edge of the massive forest, it's huge trees towering over him like titans, blocking out the sun like a solar eclipse. Inside were monsters, he knew, but he wasn't sure if he had enough strength to fight them.<p>

Yes, he was strong, but he was completely gassed. How he'd made it this far without stopping was nothing short of a miracle. Throughout this entire walk, _he_ still hadn't said anything. The only thing he could do was feel emotions. The sword...it was so heavy now. His throat was drier than the Dalmascan deserts. If the Phon Coast was freshwater, he'd be able to drink it dry now.

By an invisible push, as well as a convincing, soothing, motherly voice in his head, he lurched forward, his blackened feet moving one after the other with no beat, no peppy step, no strength to them at all. The sweat on his body ceased flowing. That wasn't a good sign. And yet he pushed forth into the woods. Far and unreachable were the traveled paths. He took none. Trudging through the undergrowth, sword tip dragging in the dirt, making small clanking noises whenever it hit a root, he made his way.

Not more than an hour later, he came upon his first small clearing. He had no map, or compass, and he couldn't use the sun to guide him because the trees that blocked it out. All he knew was that his instincts were pointing him in a direction, so like an animal, he followed. In the clearing, there were several animals, mostly predators who were relaxing. They all looked at him curiously, their nose soaking up the smell of blood and burnt flesh like a vacuum. Many of their mouths salivated from the thought of digging into him.

Several surrounded him, yet he kept on walking, making the circle of wolf-like creatures both move their circle to keep him inside and talk to one another. This hume was in terrible shape, yet he didn't consider them a threat? Did he even notice them? One approached him to further inspect this strange piece of meat. When it got within five feet, a darkga spell erupted from the ground, engulfing the animal. The rest were startled from the attack. Where did it come from?

When the spell ceased, there was nothing left of the wolf but its skeleton that stood in a petrified state, like those in the museums. He didn't know where it came from either. Somebody was looking out for him. The rest of the animals then noticed a very dark presence in the area. Its presence alone had them all whining and quivering together, their bodies shaking violently, as if by seizures. A couple of pairs of eyes saw and felt this too, but they remained distant. As well as fearful of this new being.

As he walked through the clearing, the animals still stayed huddled in absolute terror. One eventually died from its heart beating so fast. As the strange hume got further away, the presence softened enough that they felt it was safe to move. They mourned the death of the youngest member and sang into the air in sorrowful howls.

He kept going..not stopping at all. He found a small hunting trail and followed it. He followed it as long as he could, till it ended in a fork. He took the one to the right. It trailed for several miles like a never-ending snake. He passed over several types of terrain, ranging from streams, where he got some water, to rocks and gorges which he climbed down than up like a zombie. Some mysterious source kept fueling his body and it was slowly becoming stronger.

The walk was becoming less strenuous, but it was still long as hell, and his body was still on the verge of collapse from exhaustion.

* * *

><p>He didn't know how many days it's been. On the forest floor, it was impossible to tell. Night and day, the floor was shrouded in shadows and darkness because of the massive canopies and large leaves, along with the millions of branches on the trees above him. There were several more happenings like with the wolves. A mantis creature had fallen off of one of the pathways above and survived the fall. In its roaming, it ran upon him, but a firaga spell in the shape of a dome engulfed the creature before it ever got close to him. When it faded, there was nothing but a bubbling, smoldering husk left.<p>

Whoever this person, this..guardian angel was, he/she possessed some fierce magicks. Images of his battle with Hell Wyrm, how the creature possessed powerful magicks as well, and how its darkga had shredded his body, and an aeroga had blowned him across the entire room, entered his mind. Nematus fell to the ground on his knees, screaming in pain. Than, he blacked out.

* * *

><p>He woke up in a strange hut. It was similar to the Eruyt Viera's homes. Eruyt Village. He missed that beautiful sanctuary so much. He longed to walk through the gates and be greeted by Jote, Mjrn, and Sytk. He missed them so much. It's been two years since he's last seen them. How were they? Was Jote handling the position as Elder well? Was Sytk protecting the village from any and all intruders and monsters? Was Mjrn exploring the forest? Was she longing to see him, just as he was her? Would she recognize him like this? Would she still love him after being gone for so long?<p>

She was surely a beautiful woman now, to make her own choices. She probably looked like Jote now, or maybe Fran. Either way, she was perhaps the prettiest Viera in all of Ivalice by now. Without a second's hesitation, he lifted his body up off the mat. He looked down to see that not much about him was different. He was still dirty and bloody, so obviously somebody JUST brought him in. He wouldn't have minded to wait, but he wanted to see his family and friends as soon as possible.

Picking up his sword which was laid beside him, he stumbled out onto a large branch. Like it, there were hundreds more around him with huts and burrows in the trees. He knew he was in a Viera village, but didn't know which one. There were just a few Salika Viera villages in the SalikaWood, some male, some female, but he wasn't sure which one he was in.

He started walking along his branch and crossed over to another one. He didn't know which branch led where, he was just following that instinctive feeling in him, like how a dog or cat knows how to return home, no matter how far out you take them. He stumbled along and passed a hut which had several Viera having idle conversation. Some of it included him, that much he heard. The rest was drowned out. One of the women saw him and rushed out with the others.

They cut off his path, but they didn't have any weapons, so he wasn't going to dare raise his. "You shouldn't be up, hume. Your body was very weak. About to give out. You must rest. We will help your wounds."

Her voice, like all Viera's, was sweet like honey. The soothness from it alone made him want to go to sleep again. Before he knew it, he blacked out again. One of them had cast a sleep spell on him. The healer who had spoke to him caught him as he fell forward, not minding the blood and dirt getting on her body.

They took him back to the home he was in before and left. They quickly came back with bowls of water and started bathing every inch of his body. They were horrified by the number of wounds they discovered once the ash and dirt and grime was removed from his body.

"_How is he still alive?"_

_"No man, hume or not, could live with these wounds."_

_"His spirit and body are very strong. He will not die that easily."_

_"Does this look 'easily' to you? We've found chewed carcasses that were in better condition then he is."_

_"Don't worry. He will make it. He's unique."_

_"How do you know, Elder?"_

_"The Wood has gifted him. I can feel it. He will survive_."

He woke up an unknown amount of time later. His body didn't hurt anymore. He looked down and saw that he'd been cleaned spotless and his wounds were sealed closed with some kind of salve. His body was still extremely tired though. Without even realizing it, he fell back to sleep.

_"He still sleeps? It has been a month. Will he ever wake up?"_

_"His body hasn't shown any signs of malnutrition this entire month. It's as if his stomach's full all the time."_

_"He doesn't look that bad. He's kinda cute. He looks better with hair."_

_"You think every other hume that is brought in here is cute. But, atleast your standards have risen." _

He heard everything that was said throughout all of those days and nights, but they seemed like a faint dream. He lifted his upper-body up, supporting it with his arms behind him. He looked down and saw that most of his wounds were completely healed, and his MP felt like it was at full power again. He looked over and saw his WyrmHero sword, Jote's necklace, and his red-gemmed ring lying across the room on a shelf. Getting up, he noticed he was naked again, but he didn't care anymore.

He put the ring on his finger, ignoring the dark feeling it gave him, and put Jote's necklace around his head again. A Viera woman with light-tanned skin and blue eyes walked in. She jumped, startled from seeing their patient standing up and naked, but the latter was both his own and their fault. He didn't have any clothes to begin with, and they hadn't supplied him with any, being that he hadn't stirred in three months.

"Are you feeling well?" she asked. He blinked several times, as if trying to get the sleep out.

"I feel fine, but I'm tired. I wish to go home." She nodded and asked him to wait. He obeyed and sat put. The Viera healer rushed to get the others not far away. When she told them that he's awoken, they followed her back to find the hut empty.

"We must send someone out. He's probably weak from not eating for so long," she suggested. The others, one being the elder from three months ago, talked it over and decided to send a wood-warder out to look for him, but not to make it a big issue.

"He wanted to go home, so what right do we have to stop him?" she asked. And that was the last time they saw him personally, but it didn't take long for the wood-warder they sent out to find him. She was ordered to just make sure he exited the forest safely, which she did. It took two more days, but she finally returned, tired and sweaty.

"The hume walked nonstop. All of the animals in the forest...they feared him greatly. There was this..presence in the air that scared them all," the hunter/warrior reported. They relaxed knowing that he was safely out of the forest. Unlike their Golmore sisters, the Salika Viera were much more helpful towards travelers, so it was not uncommon for them to care about injured people.

Their former patient, Nematus, finally emerged from the forest and into the Mosphoran Highwaste. There, the monsters weren't as intuned with a person's spirit or presence like those of the Salikawood, so monsters of all types took a chance to kill him. With the Wyrmhero sword, never stopping, he cut them all down. There came a monster, a kin to the enkelados of the Ozmone, along with several others that resembled the werewolf of the Giza. They came all at once.

Holding up his sword, he unleashed a Firaja from the tip of it. The powerful fire spell shot forth in the form of a giant cone, engulfing the monsters and much of the landscape in a burning inferno. Their skeletons were all that remained, though they were burnt black as well, perfectly camouflaging them with the landscape. Not feeling any pain from the fire, he walked over the hot ground onward towards Nalbina. He had no money, so he couldn't buy clothes.

He finally made it, a day later, to Nalbina Fortress. The place was on high alert, with the Imperials mobilizing towards them and all. This was the Dalmascan's last stronghold before the capital, Rabanastre. Needless to say, many soldiers were either confused, suspicious, or both, about a naked man walking past the fortress with a sword. He refused to answer all and every question or any kind of help. He didn't want to be from home any longer.

Spite not having drank or eaten anything in a long time, something still kept him alive, kept him going. The unknown source of perseverance and strength aided him in the crossing of the Dalmasca Estersands. The large desert took two days to cross. It was a trip that would've taken twice or thrice that long, but he didn't stop. He could already picutre home. The wide open plains. The nanna grazing over the pastures. The Garif villagers farming in the fields. The women healing the tired and injured, or making the night meal.

Than, he saw the Golmore Jungle. He saw many of the Viera he'd come to know and befriend greet and hug him. He suffered through the monstrous hug from Sytk, and even laughed at another one of her flirts. He found comfort in the softer hug from Jote, the beautiful elder of the village. She made a joke about his appearance, to which he'd make her blush by accusing her of staring. Than..there was Mjrn, the girl who'd become closer to him than his blood family probably ever was. Imagining her body, her face, her smile, her laugh, her scent, her voice, her lips upon his..that's what drove him to never stop walking.

To his fortune, it was nighttime when he arrived through the gates of the city walls. There were people about, but they were there and gone like that. He made his way to the HQ of the now-deceased 13 Swords Clan. The building looked exactly the same as when he last saw it. He went inside and found a change of clothes. He borrowed one of his deceased friend's outfits, since they had been about the same size. It was a brown, duster coat with matching black slacks and black boots. He didn't bother with the shirt, never was much for them. Next piece of attire were some gloves. He usually didn't bother with these either, but he thought they looked cool. They were black, fingerless gloves with a rectangle opening that reveiled part of the back of his hands.

He wore a bubble belt over his waistline. He instantly felt his vitality double. He claimed Maximillian's sage's ring, something that will come in handy to any magick caster. Next, he slipped off the duster to strap on a sheath for Wyrmhero along his back. Next, he grabbed a Cat-ear hood and sewed it into the inside portion of his duster. Next came the Dragon Mail armor. He used his new found strength and a knife to cut it along the proper creases and sewed it along the inside of his duster as well. He threw the coat on and moved his arms around a bit. There was a good range of motion, so he was satisfied.

Next, he grabbed a certain special item from Cifer's room. The former leader probably would have wanted one of the clan to have it if he ever died. He pinned it to the inside of the coat that hung near his chest. Next, and finally, were his Volcano grenades. He strapped them on one by one to the inside hangars of his coat till he was at his max. He hauled the box with the rest of the grenades downstairs to sit in the middle of the room. Going to another room, he grabbed a teleport crystal and prepared to leave his past behind.

He took one of the volcano grenades from the crate and pulled the pin. He looked around the room and reminesced about all of the good times he had with the clan in here. Feeling a tear roll down his cheek, he tossed the grenade into the crate with dozens of others and used the teleport stone to wisk him away to the place he wanted to see most. After his leave, the grenade blew. The rest exploded like a chain reaction and in an instant, the entire clan house was in a burning pile of rubble. Screams from witnesses and yells from the Dalmascan Guard filled the air.

* * *

><p>He appeared in a shower of sparkles by the gate crystal in front of the Eruyt Village. As soon as he had returned, his mind and body felt so calm..so peaceful. It's as if the Wood understood what he'd just went through and was comforting his body and spirit like a mother cradling her baby. The voices in his head..they were no longer whispers. He could clearly understand what they were saying. And it was one of the best things he's heard in a long time.<p>

_"Welcome home, Child." _

Of course, he knew this wasn't his real home, but the Wood knew he considered her domain a home away from home. She knew of him very well and considered him her child like she did the Viera, and saw in his soul and mind all that had transpired.

_"Come. They will soon be waiting,"_ she spoke in a motherly tone. It sounded like Aerith in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, but he wouldn't know anything about that. He removed his coat, footwear, and sheath, exposing his entire upper body. With those in his left arm, and his boots by the crystal, he walked to the village center rather quickly. There, he could already sense three approaching signatures, two of them running. He couldn't help but smile. But that faded when all the signatures stopped.

He heard many whispers among the Viera up ahead. They were unsure of this seemingly familiar presence. When he got to the first courtyard, there were dozens of Viera wood-warders waiting for him. Seeing a hume trespassing into their village was about to get him dozens of arrows in the face, but some of them recognized the hume. He dropped his coat and sword/sheath and approached them.

"Greetings, Eruyt village. I've never drawn this kind of reaction before," he said, sorta put off by the hostile reaction.

To his rescue were his three favorite people. Sytk broke through the lines, almost shoving some warders off their feet while ordering them to put their weapons away. They did as she said and lowered them. Mjrn busted through the line of warders almost with more ferocity than Sytk. His two friends stared at him carefully, as if doubting his identity.

"...It's me..Nematus." He suddenly felt really weak. It was that same tiredness that he'd had before. Somehow, he was able to keep himself up. "I...know I have alot...to tell you all...don't I?" he asked.

Finally, Mjrn smiled, which made his heart flutter. In fact, just the sight of her gave him butterflies. She'd definitely grown into a beautiful young woman. She came and wrapped him in a tight hug while Sytk assured everyone of who he was and that he was alright. Most knew him now, so they went about their daily routines. Sytk came up and wrapped Nematus in a hug, despite the smaller Mjrn being between them.

Not a minute later, Jote arrived and was surprised and happy to see him. He gave a slow nod. His eyes started to droop and his stomach growl. He must've ran that power source dry or something, because he wasn't feeling it now. They noticed this and became concerned. He tried to assure them he was alright, but then he collapsed forward, face first into the wood.

The three were quick to respond, but they hesitated when they saw his back. Up the entire length of his back, halfway up the back of his neck while going down below his belt line was a massive scar. It was about five inches in width, which covered most of his back.

"Nematus!" Mjrn yelled. Jote told her to go get a healer while she and Sytk carried him there. When she was gone, Jote spoke up, concern laced in her voice.

"What manner of wound is this, Sytk?" The massive wood-warder was baffled.

"I'm not sure. This scar was made by a single claw, and it is not deep. He must've suffered just the tip of its strike. This beast must've been massive..the only thing that could come close to this size would have been the Elder Wyrm, but he hasn't been in the Golmore for years. It has had many months to heal, so it is not the reason for his collapse. Let's get him inside."

Jote nodded and the two lifted the man further into the village to a hut where a couple of salve makers were already waiting with Mjrn. They carried him in and lowered him softly onto a prepared mat. Immediately, the healers began work on him, mentally checking off the list any type of wound. There were recent wounds, but minor. There wasn't any internal bleeding like last time, either. His heart rate was normal, as was his breathing. He looked very calm as well.

The healers exited the hut and told them the news. "There's nothing really wrong with him. His body is suffering from extreme fatigue. Lack of sleep, food, and water are the most likely causes for this."

The three were relieved by the news. "It's best to let him rest. Than when he wakes up, we'll make him eat and drink something," she finished. The three thanked her. They were allowed in, but Sytk went to recover Nematus' items from the courtyard. Jote and Mjrn stepped in and smiled at seeing him so peaceful. Is he always this serene when he sleeps?

Jote and Mjrn both knelt down by his sides. Mjrn wrapped around his chest in a possessive hug, resting her head against his chest, while Jote was brushing his head back and forth with her gentle fingers. Sytk soon returned after putting Nematus' clothes and weapons in her hut and took her own spot at his head. If he were to just open his eyes, he'd have a clear view of her glorious downstairs.

It'd been a good two years, as usual, since they all had seen him. All admired how much he'd grown. He was a real man now, they all thought. They couldn't believe this was the same young boy they found wondering through the Wood to get to the Feywood. He's certainly accomplished what he'd set out to do. Everyone could learn a thing or two about his dedication.

He slept peacefully for the next 24hrs, sometimes mumbling incoherent things, though he once managed the word 'wyrm.' They assumed that to be the type of creature that gave him that scar. They were also curious as to where his mask was, and why he has taken a fancy to hume clothing. When he finally woke up, he couldn't have been happier when the first people he saw where Mjrn, Sytk, and Jote. They all really cared for him, like he was family.

"Hey..." he said softly. They all smiled affectionately at him.

"We need to stop meeting like this," Jote teased.

"I'm sorry I worried you all. I was just so tired," he responded. Just what he was so exhausted from was something they all wanted to know.

"The healers say that you've been neglecting your body," Jote said, some concern and sterness thick in her voice. "They said that you collapsed from lack of sleep, food, and water. Why have you been doing this?" she asked, her protective nature towards him kicking in.

"I don't know. I walked back all the way from the Sochen Cave Palace. I'm not sure how long ago that was. My body...couldn't stop walking. All I could think about...was home...and you three."

His statement had two of them blushing slightly while the most mature one wasn't phazed, nor did she seem satisfied with the answer. "If you walked, than that would have taken over a week. What about your clan?"

"They're all dead," he said coldly.

"!"-all three.

"Th-they're dead? What happened?" Mjrn asked.

"We...were ambushed by a monster," he said. "It killed everyone, but I survived...that's the last thing I remember," he added that lie at the end.

"I've heard talk from passing travelers these past weeks," Sytk announced. "There was much talk about many people dying near this Sochen Palace. A great wyrm awoke and killed hundreds of Archadians. But..this was over a month ago. Where have you been?"

He gave a sigh as he sat up. "I remember walking for what felt like an eternity. I went through the Salikawood. I met many monsters, but something kept protecting me. I blacked out eventually and woke up in the village of some Viera."

Jote and Sytk incidentally allowed a feminine growl to escape their throats. He didn't know what to think about that. "I tried to leave, but I blacked out again. They cared for my wounds. I don't know how long I was there, but eventually, I awoke again. I grabbed my things and left...because being in their village made me long for this one." He gave them a tired smile.

Despite the fact that he just woke up, they all pulled him into a warm embrace between them. Naturally, he'd have blushed and felt his face heating up...he still did, but all he could think about was that he was here with them and this time, it wasn't his imagination.

"Well, it's good to have you back, Nematus." Sytk gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, making his blush to a darker shade of red. Mjrn was absolutely furious at the older, larger woman moving in on her territory. She'd show her.

She turned the head of a still-shocked Nematus and kissed him on the lips. Nematus' eyes were wide open now. Two beautiful women had just kissed him, and it was in front of Jote of all people. Sure, something similar to this happened before, but he was giving them gifts and such. Now though, there was nothing they could use as an excuse.

He looked to Jote, silently awaiting her response to this. They stared at each other before she chuckled. "What? You want one from me too?" she joked. If they could, Nematus' eyes would have been the size of airships, and his blush was so dark, it had went from red to purple. Sytk was looking at her friend with a surprised expression while Mjrn looked mortified.

"I'm just jesting, everyone," she said, rolling her eyes with a smile. "A hug was adequate enough. Besides Nematus, you've got those two to worry about. You don't need a third one. Now, can we get back on topic? It sounds like you were recovering for quite some time in the Salikawood. Are you saying that you didn't eat or drink anything your entire time there?"

"Well, I guess. The only time I ever woke up was when I tried to leave. And I didn't eat or drink anything after I left, save for a little bit of water. I don't know how, I just kept going," he said admittedly. She looked him in the eyes and could tell he was telling the truth. She honestly couldn't remember if he'd ever lied to them about anything.

"What about the monster?" Sytk asked, quite curious as to its fate. Jote saw him flinch slightly and his gaze turn cold towards his hands in his lap.

"I...I can't tell you." That statement surprised the three, but not so much for Jote. She had a feeling before that he might have been skipping some details, but she didn't want to push him too far. After all, he'd just lost his entire clan. "Can you just trust me when I say that I've taken care of it?"

The pleading look in his moist eyes was heartbreaking and pitiful, a look that made the three Viera wonder what in Ivalice could be bad enough for him to give them that look and to keep a secret. He was normally an open-book to them, so this must've been something grand. Sytk and Mjrn didn't really know how to answer that. Jote had trouble too, but she still managed to form an intelligent response.

"Of course, Nematus."

The dreary mood was upsetting, so Mjrn tried to change the conversation. She hated seeing her crush this upset about something. "So...Nematus..what are you going to do now?"

He took a couple of moments to think over his options, but when he remembered that homesick feeling that possessed him and controlled him like a marionette, there really was only one option.

"I'm going to stay with the Jahara village. I'll probably be a hunter. If it's alright with you, Jote, I'd like to come visit here often."

"hmph," the elder responded. "As if you even have to ask, Nematus. You're apart of this village whether you're Viera or not. The Wood has also told me that you can speak to her now. Am I right?"

The shocked look on the other two's faces was cute, which caused him to smile as he answered. "Yes. I can hear her words as well as I hear your's."

Jote couldn't help but be greatly amused by this ironic being. Nematus, born a hume, raised by Garif, and blessed by the Viera's 'deity'. Is he even hume anymore? Time will only tell. Nematus watched the three conversate and talk about the things that've happened and about how just a few months ago, there was this great explosion that turned the sky red, and how they could hear the sound of it even from here.

There were other things as well: Mjrn talking about her little adventures throughout the forest and sometimes the few patrols that Sytk asked her to join; Sytk talking about her patrols and events in the forest, and how she's wishing for a man, which caused Nematus to blush, Jote to roll her eyes, and Mjrn to think about stabbing the wood-warder in the face. Jote explained that not much has happened in her position, just having to do council meetings and organize and date upcoming events.

As he listened with great interest, a dark presence stirred in his mind till he heard a voice.

_**"..." **_The small jewel on his ring gained a faint glow.

_**"..."**_

_**"..."**_

_**"..."**_

_**"..."**_

_**"..."**_

_**"So...this is what we'll be fighting** **for."**_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What the F**K? Was that who I think it was at the end? But...how? Why? So many questions, I'm confused! **

**Just kidding, that was my imitation of probably what you all were doing when you read that last part. On second thought, I was mainly imitating Sweety Death. :P I'll give one virtual cookie to the first person who correctly reveals what happened. Please Review.**


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